Silent killer Rewrite
by Piper'stemper
Summary: Takes place in season three. Piper has an aneurysm that ruptures and now she has brain damage. Short term memory loss, difficulty speaking and some movement issues cause serious depression and anxiety for her and the family. Full Summary inside.
1. Missed Doctors Appointment

DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything Charmed, which is owned by Spelling Productions and The WB, now The CW.

Arthur's notes:

First I want to apologize for cutting the story short and ending the way I did. I feel out of love for this story as a new one came into my head call I will kill for you, which I need to complete first before I start on this one. But after looking at this again I decided to change a lot in this and take a different approach. I loved Jezebell night but I will be removing her and replacing with Paige as a way to re-create the power of three. (**This will not be a premonition, or a dream**)

New summary

Piper has an aneurysm that ruptures and now she has brain damage. Short term memory loss, difficulty speaking and some movement issues cause serious depression and anxiety for and the family. But a sister is discovered, it gives them a change to survive the constant demon attacks, but as Paige, Prue and Phoebe get closer, Piper feels she is getting further away even from Leo.

Silent killer (Rewrite)

Chapter 1

Missed Doctors Appointment

Phoebe and Prue entered the old Victorian house as they've done many times before, talking about their day, any new relationships and other sisterly things. It was around 2 Pm on a Thursday and both sisters had the day off so they could go shopping. Prue put her blue and red shopping bags on the Fourier table while Phoebe, who had little money mostly because she was a student and placed her single white bag next to hers.

"Ok student pay sucks" The youngest said as she continued walking down the hallway towards the kitchen, but stopped suddenly when she heard noises coming from the sunroom.

Prue was not that far behind her and also stopped as their adrenaline began to rise. They both walked quickly but cautiously into the sunroom expecting a demon but instead found their middle sister punching and kicking while facing the TV. Piper was sweating profusely as she tried to keep up with the steps.

"Piper!" Phoebe yelled out as she watched a somewhat uncoordinated sister knock over a lamp and a vase, but was completely unaware of the chaos she was causing because of the headphones she was wearing.

"Piper!" Prue yelled out next but it was choppy through her laughs. Finally they both yelled and a heavy breathing Piper was ripped out of her Kung Fu world and now faced two laughing faces.

"Oh HI!" Piper replied yelling a bit over her own music.

"Honey what are you doing besides killing the accessories?" Phoebe said as she picked up some of the pieces of the broken lamp that laid about the room.

Piper turned off her headphones and noticed the mess that she caused and gave off an embarrassing smile "Sorry, I'll get it Phoebe."

"You know Piper, I think you should stick to step tapes," Prue said as she sat down on the chair next to the stained-glass window.

"Apparently," The heavy breathing woman replied.

Phoebe put the pieces in the small trash can next to the wall and looked at the TV. "Sweetie this is advanced Tae Bo, you're going to kill yourself."

"Oh thank god I thought I was really out of shape," Piper replied as she tried to regain her breath and put her hands on her hips.

"Why are you doing that anyway, you just freeze them and then take your time beating them up?" Prue said as she picked up a magazine that was on the coffee table.

"Well some don't freeze and the woman on the step tape is way too perky," Piper replied.

"God knows you hate perky," Prue said as her eyes widened as she looked at a page in the magazine "Oh that bastard!"

Piper and Phoebe were a little taken back by Prue's comment "Something bothering you Prue?" Piper asks while tilting her head.

"That is not the picture I gave him to put in," Prue replied and turned the picture around so everyone could see it. Both sisters moved in to get a better look at their oldest sister's reason for profanity. The picture was of a man standing in front of a wall holding a bottle of champagne. Piper looked hard at it to try to find something wrong, but it looked fine to her and Phoebe.

"Help us out honey," Piper said looking a little confused.

"It was supposed to be the one of him near the water fountain in the park, not a dam wall," Prue replied and stood up throwing the magazine back on the table.

Piper and Phoebe followed a very irate sister into the Kitchen. "What is it with men and power complexes, seriously is everything a pissing contest."

"I think that is one you're going to lose Prue," Phoebe said as she grabbed an apple out of the basket on the kitchen island.

"Well there was that time she was a man and sense she never let us see it, we have no idea."

"That is so not the point and gross," Prue replied closing her eyes a little disgusted at the thought.

The room filled with white light and Piper shielded her eyes from the onslot, "Turn down the sun," She said as Leo orbed in.

"You ok Piper?" Phoebe asks noticing her middle sister's face was contorted a little in pain.

"Yeah just a headache from hell," Piper replied while lowering her hand to see her husband.

"Hi honey," Leo said as he gave her a hug. Piper sank her head into his chest and felt her body relax into his.

"I need to go and fix this," Prue said grabbing her keys from the counter.

Piper pulled herself out of her lover embrace as the memory of what she had to do today came rushing in. "Prue wait I need your car today."

"Why?" Prue asks.

"My car is in the shop until tomorrow and I have a doctor's appointment today," Piper replied as she grabbed a washcloth from the sink. She could see that her sister was not ready to give up a fight with her editor and gave out a heavy sigh in her own defeat. "It's ok I can reschedule."

"Are you sure?" Prue asks as she played with her keys in her hand.

"Yeah because you want sleep tonight if you don't," Piper replied and started cleaning off the counter.

Prue gave Piper a hug and dashed out. "I can take you," Leo suggested as he rubbed her back, but just as soon as the words came out, the familiar jingle made him look up. "Sorry," He said and hoped his wife would not get upset.

"Its ok, I need to get taxes ready anyway," Piper answered and gave him a kiss as he orbed out.

"I thought you got an extension on those?" Phoebe asks.

"I did but with all the demon vanquishes and the club, not to mentioned husbands that come in and out at random I haven't exactly had time."

"You have more than one husband or was that just a mistake on plural?" Phoebe asks.

"Husband," Piper replied giving Phoebe a hard look.

"Hay have you ever thought of duplicating him, you know like when Prue became Prue's?"

"What women wouldn't but after the bar thing last week, I think Leo would run away screaming."

"Oh right the bar that had more outie's then innie's, come to think about it I think we were the only real women there."

"Do you know I had to explain that to him when we got home, and ever sense he has been more macho than ever."

"You have to feel for him, I mean he was getting hit on at every turn and when we said they were men, well let's just say he was questioning his manhood."

"I can't complain he has been very observant in bed lately," Piper said with a halfcocked smile.

"Not to change the subject but why are you going to the doctors?" Phoebe asks concerned.

"It's just my annual checkup Phoebe," Piper replied seeing the concern in her sister's face.

"I would let you use my car, oh wait I don't have one," Phoebe said as she through the apple remains in the trash.

"Well that is why you're going to school, so you can get a great job and then use your check to pay for your student loans until your 80," Piper said and left the kitchen patting her baby sister on the head on the way out.

"That's encouraging."

Piper made her way upstairs and to her bathroom getting ready for a long awaited shower. She felt a sharp pain behind her left eye as a wave of nausea rushed her. She studied herself using the wall as she tried to remove the grip that pain had on her. "_Ouch god that hurts_," She thought and just as quickly as the intense pain came, it was gone. She took a deep breath and opened the medicine cabinet to retrieve a bottle of Advil, but it was empty and she knew that her sisters sometimes use her pills when they run out. "_Would it kill them to replace it_," Her already aching head thought.

Later that day Piper was in the sunroom steering at the scattered papers on the table and boxes filled with receipts and miscellaneous paper work were at her feet. She let out a sigh and began filling out the numerous forms. "Ok if line A is greater than line B, than use line C with line E. How about I take my foot and stick it into your line A?" Piper said as Leo entered the room.

"What are you going to do with your foot?" Leo asks and sat down next to her.

"Can we vanquish the IRS because I swear they are demons," Piper said as she moved some of the forms away from her and dropped her head on the table mumbling something under her breath.

"No they are not demons honey, but we might be able to use the argument that it would keep people from going insane," Leo said and rubbed her back.

Piper raised her head and her eyes met his. He could calm a hurricane with those eyes and right now she needed calming.

"How do you do that?" She said while smiling at him.

"Do what?" Leo asks with a smile of his own.

"Never mind what are you doing?" Piper asks looking at him a little mischievous.

"Anything you want," He replied and leaned in for a kiss but Piper's cell phone was the equivalent of a parent walking in on two hormonal teenagers.

"Dammit," Piper said and answered her phone as Leo regained his composure.

"Hay Prue really bad timing," Piper said into her phone.

"Sorry but so do demons," Prue answered.

"What were you attacked?"

"Yes and once he realized he made a mistake he took off like the little coward he was."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine. He was a low level and all we need is a potion and there is a summoning spell in the book."

"Prue how do you know that, you haven't been home?"

"I astral projected to the book."

"Convenient."

"All you need to do is summon him and use the potion."

"Wait you want me to," Piper said but was cut off by Prue.

"OH, Oh I need to go the editor is finely out of his meeting," Prue said and hung up.

Piper closed her phone and let out a snort as she headed for the attic with Leo behind her.

"You should call Phoebe," Leo said as they entered the room.

"No she is studying for her final today and she has been working really hard Leo I don't want to distract her with something I can do on my own," Piper replied and looked at the book.

"Piper you can't let them keep doing this," Leo said standing across from her.

"Doing what?" Piper replied as she wrote down the spell and Ingredients.

"You know what."

"Leo it's not a big deal, I'm sure that if it was an upper level demon Prue would be on her way home."

Piper headed out of the attic as her home phone rang. "What are we the phone company," She said as she picked up the phone that was on a small table in the hallway.

"Piper Halliwell?" A woman said from the other end.

"Yes."

"This is Doctor Williamson office; you missed your appointment today."

"Oh god I'm sorry it's just something came up."

"Miss Halliwell you know that you get charged even if you don't show right?"

"Yeah I know I will try to make it tomorrow."

"Ok I will tell him."

"Thanks," Piper said and hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Leo asks.

"Nothing, well do you want to let out some Frustration?" Piper said holding the piece of paper with the spell in her hand.

Leo smiled but he looked up and his face showed his apology. "Wait till I come back ok."

"Sure," Piper answered as Leo orbed away. "Like I can wait," She said and made her way to the kitchen. It only took her a few minutes to make the potion and after gathering her courage she summoned him. He shimmered in looking very confused and she froze him. She than through the potion bottle at his feet and he unfroze but the potion did nothing it just fizzled on the floor. "Oh crap," Piper said and made a run for it to the sunroom as the demon pulled out a knife from his belt. "LEO!" She yelled out while looking for a weapon, "Leo!" she called out again and the familiar blue and white orbs filled the room. Leo could see is wife running past him as she grabbed a vase off the table. "Piper!" He yelled as the demon through the knife at her. She used the vase to stop the knife and then tried to freeze him again but it did not work. Leo grabbed the knife off the floor and thrust it into the demons back causing him to explode.

"Ok what the hell was that," She said as she reclaims her breath.

"Are you ok?" He said as he rushed over to her.

"Yeah but why wouldn't he freeze and that dam potion didn't work."

"Maybe Prue was wrong," Leo replied as he helped her sit down.

"Oh when she gets home," Piper said and then gasp when she looked at the table with her taxes on it. The papers were burnt and covered with demon cuts. She grabbed her head around her eye and grunted.

"Piper what's wrong?" Leo asks nervously as he put his hand to her head trying to heal her. "Did he hurt you?"

"No it's just this dam headache."

"Honey why don't you lay down and I will clean up ok," Leo suggested.

"No I'm fine and I need to get those taxes done before tomorrow," Piper said and put her hand down but her eyes were still closed.

"I think you're stressed and that is why your power didn't work," Leo said as he rubbed her back for the 3rd time today.

"Maybe," She answered as she relaxed.

Leo walked her to their bedroom and tucked her in, and before he could even kiss her she was out. "Sleep well honey," He said and kissed her on the forehead. He then made his way down stairs and did the best he could with the tax forms on the table. He was concerned about Piper's powers not working right but he did not want to leave her alone to ask the elders, so he decided to wait for one of the sisters to come home. 30 minutes later Phoebe walked in.

"Hello I'm home," she said a little loud and Leo shushed her.

"Piper is lying down."

"Oh did she get her taxes done?" Phoebe said and sat down in the living room.

"No we had an interruption," Leo said and sat next to her.

"A demon or something fun," Phoebe said giving her brother-in law a raised eyebrow.

"I wish, it was a demon."

"Is she ok?" Phoebe asks worriedly.

"Yeah just stressed and it is affecting her power."

"What?"

"It's ok I think she will be ok after her nap."

The door slamming shut made all them jump up and they heard the sound of Prue's voice rumbling so they ran to shush her as well.

Upstairs Piper was waked up by the loud noise and in this house loud noises are not good. She jumped up but a dizzy spell hit her hard and she went to one knee as the room spun. She closed her eyes and lifted herself back to her bed and began to rock, hoping that the movement would balance out her eyes when she opened them. She felt worse than when she laid down and she was worried that there was a demon in the house." _Come on Piper get up_," She thought as she opened her eyes but the room was fuzzy and she felt sick again. "_Dammit come on, go away please just go away_," She tried to well herself better and after a few agonizing minutes her site was clear again and the nausea was gone but her head was throbbing. She could hear voices coming from down stairs and knew it might be Phoebe or Prue so she stood up slowly and made her way out.

"I can't believe him," Prue said as she entered the living room.

"Keep it down Prue, Piper is sleeping." Phoebe said as she put her fingers to her lips.

"Not anymore," Piper said as she descended the stairs.

Leo walked over to her as his temper was flaring up, "Piper go back up stairs and lay down."

"No I'm fine and I need to finish the taxes."Oh by the way Prue the potion didn't work."

"Piper I know I was looking at the right demon," Prue replied defensive.

"He didn't go boom it just fizzled," Piper answered and made her way to the table.

"Maybe you wrote it down wrong," Prue said while following her.

"No I didn't Prue," Piper snapped back, she was exhausted her head was about to explode and now she was getting angry as she handed the ingredients to the cause of her blood boiling over. Prue took the piece of paper.

"Piper this is wrong, you wrote it down wrong," Prue said and ran to get the book.

"No I didn't," Piper yelled after her but she was starting to doubt herself. She remembered the words were a little fuzzy at the time and maybe Prue was right.

Prue came down with the book and like a child who just won a spitting contest showed Piper that she did write it down wrong.

"Oh sorry, I think I need glasses," Piper said as the nausea and dizzies came back in force.

"Piper are you ok," Leo asks but this time knew she was not. Her skin was shiny and she was pale.

"Piper," Prue's once hard voice became soft as she sat next to her. Phoebe was still standing but she started playing with her hands as fear filled her.

Piper did not answer; instead she put her hand to her head again and let out a loud grunt.

"Leo heal her," Phoebe said as she moved behind Piper to rub her back. He put his hands over her but nothing happened. "I can't," He said as h face fell.

Piper begins to vomit and went to her knees and she was holding her left arm.

"Piper what's wrong?" Prue asks while holding her hair out of her face. Pipers voice was low and garbled so Prue leaned in trying to understand her.

"You can't move your arm?" Prue asks not sure what Piper said. But it was confirmed by her middle sister nod.

"Oh god, oh god," Phoebe's voice cracked, "Leo get us to the hospital now, I think she is having a stroke!"

Leo did not hesitate and they orbed out.

To be continued….


	2. Normal life has its cons

Chapter 2

Normal life has its cons

Phoebe looked at the clock for the 10th time as she paced the white tile floors in the hospital waiting room.

"Phoebe please sit down honey," Prue asks and pulled out a tissue from the tissue box next to her.

"I can't Prue, it doesn't make any sense she is only 28 how the hell could she have a stroke?" Phoebe replied and continued pacing.

"I don't know honey and we don't know if that was what it is," Prue answered as Leo orbed in.

"Have you heard anything yet?" He asks as his green eyes were filled with worry.

"No and what did the elders say?" Prue asks hoping that he would have good news. Leo sat down next to her and lowered his head.

"They said there is nothing we can do but be here for her, it's not magic," He answered and knew that would not satisfy neither Prue or Phoebe.

"What, after everything she has done for them," Prue's voice rose as the doctor knocked on the door.

"How is she, what is wrong is it a stroke?" Phoebe asks while rushing the doctor.

Dr. Williamson closed the door and sat down while the others stood around him.

"She is stable but we have a lot to go over before I let you see her, so why don't we go to my office ok?" He said and stood back up. He could hear the sighs of relief behind him as he led them out to his office.

The room was a light beige color and had 5 chairs around a circular table. At first the others were taken back by the tables shape but they noticed charts on the wall and a computer at one end. This was not an office but more like a show and tell room.

"Have a seat," Dr. Williamson said and the others complied. "Dr Jackson will be in shortly to explain her condition."

"Condition, what condition?" Leo asks almost begging in is voice.

"She had an aneurysm that ruptured," He answered as a man entered the room.

"A what, oh god that could have killed her," Prue said and used the tissue again to wipe her eyes.

"Yes but they were able to stop the bleeding in time but it took over 4 hours of intense surgery to do it," Dr. Williamson said and motioned the other Dr. to come over to him. "This is Dr. Jackson he will answer your questions much better than I can. I will come and get you when she is ready for visitors," Dr. Williamson answered and left the room.

"Is this the whole family?" Dr. Jackson asks and sat down.

"Yes," Prue answered not wanting to get into details about their mother.

"Ok, first she is stable but we are not out of the woods yet. She will be here for about 14 to 16 days in the neuroscience intensive care unit, where I and the nurses can watch closely for signs of renewed bleeding, vasospasm, hydrocephalus, and other potential complications.

"I'm sorry but I still don't understand what happened to her and what is an aneurysm?" Phoebe asks a little inpatient.

"An aneurysm is a balloon-like bulge or weakening of an artery wall. As an aneurysm enlarges it puts pressure on surrounding structures, causing headache or vision problems, and may eventually rupture. A ruptured aneurysm releases blood into the spaces around the brain, called a subarachnoid hemorrhage. It is a type of stroke.

"Piper," Prue said softly as she closed her eyes tight.

"So what happens now?" Leo asks while tears formed in his eyes.

"Well it will depend on how she is when she wakes up. She will have problems with speech, memory mostly short term and movement of her left side. Did she complaint of any pain before this happened or even a week ago like, sudden onset of a severe headache, nausea and vomiting, stiff neck , sensitivity to light, blurred or double vision?" He asks as he pulled out his clip board.

Prue took a deep breath as the rest did the same, remembering that she was having bad headaches and light was bothering her for at least a week. "Yes almost all of those," She answered not wanting to look at him. "_Dammit if I would have taken care of my own problems she would not have missed her appointment and he could have caught this_," Prue said to herself as Phoebe and Leo started crying.

"So how did you fix it?" Phoebe asks but not sure if she wanted the answer.

The doctor pulled out some charts along with pictures of the procedure. "An opening was made in the skull, called a craniotomy, so we could locate the aneurysm. A small clip was placed across the "neck" of the aneurysm to block the normal blood flow from entering. The clip is made of titanium and remains on the artery permanently. We put her on the operating table and gave general anesthesia. After she was asleep, her head was placed in a three-pin skull fixation device, which attaches to the table and holds her head in position during the procedure. Next, the incision area of the scalp was prepped. We had to shave the incision area."

"How long will it take her to recover?" Leo asks while using his sleeve to wipe his face.

"It depends on how bad the brain was damage during the rupture but it could take just a few months or even a year. She may need to learn everything over again but the more she does it the more her memory of before will kick in. But let's take this one step at a time ok," He said and stood up from the table and handed them some pamphlets about her condition and rehab. Phoebe and Prue just sat there in shock as Leo picked up the papers.

"She is going to be so pissed about her hair," Phoebe said through tears.

"We need to be strong for her and I need to make some phone calls," Prue said as she stood up from the table.

Leo just stared at the papers, he felt helpless for the first time in his life and he wanted to be with her badly.

An hour past and Dr. Jackson came into the waiting room.

"You can see her now, but it will be one at a time and only for a few minutes. We need to keep her brain from over stimulating while she is in a drug induced coma to avoid complications," He said and guided them to the intensive care unit. There was a large window and they could see Piper through it. Leo felt his hart sink and his stomach rise. The once strong independent woman that had so much life in her, was now fragile, week and helpless. She was a petite person, so she looked tiny against all the equipment around her. She was on a ventilator and had a blue and white cap on her head that protected the incisions from the surgery. Leo placed his hands on the window as his lower lip quivered.

"Leo you should go first," Prue said noticing his desire and need to hold her.

"Ok," He answered but it was low as he walked past Prue and Phoebe.

"One thing Leo, she might be able to hear you so be careful in what you say. Just tell her you love her and you will be by her side," Dr. Jackson said as he opened the door. The sisters watched as Leo walked in nervously and took her hand.

"Is it ok for me to touch her?" Leo asks.

"Yes it is fine and a good thing," The doctor replied as he kept his eye on the monitors.

Leo leaned down and whispered in her ear." I love you baby and I will be here for you always, your sisters are going to come and say hi to you soon, be strong honey and we love you," The last part was choppy as his emotions took hold of him once again.

"Sorry Leo but that is all I can give you right now, but I promise you will be able to spend more time with her soon," Dr. Jackson said as Leo let go of Piper's hand but stopped when he felt her squeeze a little.

"She is squeezing my hand," Leo said and felt hope in him.

"That means she recognized your voice or your touch."

Leo's face rose but his eyes were pleading to stay, he did not want to leave her and the doctor noticed immediately what he was saying without a word being said.

"I'm sorry Leo but she needs to rest."

It took ever fiber in his being to let go of her hand and he could feel her trying to hold on. "It's ok Piper you need to rest now, I will be back soon I promise," Leo said as he kissed her on the cheek. Phoebe who was watching the scene unfold broke down and turned away from the window as Prue closed her eyes tightly, causing tears to stream down her face. Leo came out of the room and the minute the door shut he walked away from them to the other side of the hallway and broke down himself.

"Prue you can see her now," Dr. Jackson said as he opened the door. "I don't want to do this, I don't know if I could let go of her hand if she squeezed it," Prue thought as the doctor stood there with the door open. She finally got enough courage to step in. The door shut and now she was face to face with her worst fear. A sister is hurt and there is nothing she can do to help her but wait. She was not in control anymore, now it was the powers that be and Piper's will to survive. She hated it and now she was getting angry at the elders for not helping her, but she needed to put those feelings aside and be strong and comforting to her fallen sister. Prue tentatively walked to the side of the bed and took Piper's hand into her shaking one and used her other hand to rub her forearm. She felt cold and lifeless as Prue rubbed back-and-forth.

"Piper its Prue and I love you. It's going to be ok you just need to rest," The oldest sister said and felt a slight squeeze on her hand. It was barely noticeable and any other time probably would have thought it was nothing, but her senses were on high alert and every little movement was noticed. "Phoebe is going to come in and talk to you next ok, I love you honey and don't worry everything is going to be ok," Prue finished and reluctantly let go. Prue left the room in a hurry and found a secluded part of the hallway and sat down on one of the benches. She could not keep it in anymore and just collapsed her head into her hands.

Phoebe stood there as the doctor opens the door to let her in, but she did not move. "Phoebe it's ok to be scared but she needs to know you are here," He said as he opened the door more.

"I... I can't," Phoebe's voice was like a broken record player and she backed away.

"I know this is hard but think if it was you, wouldn't you want to know Piper was here?"

Phoebe did not say anything as salty liquid escaped her eyes, "_I wish it was me, this shouldn't be happening to her, not her_," Phoebe thought and then realized that he was right and stepped forward slowly. She entered the room and repeats the same as the other two. She took Piper's hand and again felt the slight squeeze to hers. She tried not to cry but it was no use as her emotions had free range of her body. "Piper its Phoebe, and I love you so much, we will be here with you though this so don't be afraid ok," Phoebe finished and ran out and down the hallway until she could not be seen by anyone.

All four were in their own world at the moment when Leo heard the familiar jingle and after finding a place he could orb without being seen, he did so.

"What!" Leo yelled at the first elder he saw.

"Leo we have moved your other charges to other accounts so you can be with Piper," Oden said and put his hand on Leo shaking shoulder.

Leo felt his body relax a little and was grateful that he didn't have to worry about his other charges. "We are sorry Leo that we can't help but Piper will need to be protected while she is vonorable."

"What do you mean?" Leo asks nervously not thinking of the demon danger at the moment.

"The underworld has gotten wind of her condition and might take advantage of it," Oden said as he face showed concern.

"You have to be kidding me, it's not enough that she may never be the same again but now they want to finish her off," Leo's voice rose once more and he didn't care who he offended.

"We will be sending some help for the sisters to protect against attacks at the manner and we will give you the ability to cloak yourself so you can be around her until she is out of danger at the hospital."

"Ok, who are you sending?"

"Another sister," Oden replied.

To be continued…


	3. Help Wanted

Chapter 3

Help Wanted

Prue could not stop her mind from drifting as she tried to look over her photographs that the editor needed for the next issue. "What about the club, she loves it and what about the taxes," Her mind was racing. "How are we going to take care of her, how bad will the damage be, will she ever be the same?" God this house seems so empty without her, I already miss her laugh."Prue pushed the photos off the table and just unleashed her power on everything and anything that was around her. With a wave of her hand, shelf's and furniture went in all directions as if a tornado came through the house. "I HATE YOU DO YOU HEAR ME I HATE YOU!" She said as the water works flowed once more while looking up to the heavens.

"Prue," A calm man's voice said behind her.

Prue was still using her power to transfer her emotional state into a physical one. "Prue," He said again and this time she turned. All the anger and sadness was now subdued by the man in front of her replaced with shock and confusion.

"Andy," She said in a childlike voice.

"Yes Prue it's me," He answered was wearing a light blue shirt with jeans but what his attire lacked in dazzling, his eyes made up for they gleamed as they looked into hers.

The once angry sister put her hand over her fluttering hart as Andy walked up to her. "Prue I know that this is a shock but the elders sent me down to help out."

"I don't understand?" She said and sat down on the only piece of furniture that was not turned over.

"They made me a whitelighter shortly after I died, I'm sorry I could not tell you but."

"Let me guess it was against the rules,"Prue finished his sentence.

"Yeah," He said with a small smile while putting his hand on hers. "Prue you need to be patient and just have faith that Piper will be ok."

"Andy I'm trying but we have no idea how bad she will be when she wakes up,"Prue said and looked away.

"You need to stop blaming yourself for this."

"How, if I would have noticed if I just would have asks how she was,"Prue tried to continue but broke down again.

Andy put his arms around her and she felt his warmth, maybe it was a whitelighter thing or maybe it was her love for him. Either way she let it consume her. The front door opening broke them both out of a moment of bliss as Phoebe entered but stopped when she saw Andy. "Oh my god, Andy."

"Hay Phoebe," He answered and gave her a hug.

"How, why and what happened to the house?" Phoebe said as she looked around trying to take in a flood of images at once.

"Well he is a wightlighter the elders sent down to help us while Piper recovers, and sorry I kind of went on an anti-cleaning rant," Prue answered.

"Hum I'm not the only one they are sending," Andy said as he picked up a chair that was a casualty of Prue's anger.

"What do you mean?" Prue asks.

"Leo will be with Piper at knight and he will be able to cloak himself so no one can see him. I will help you guys if demons attack here and heal if need be."

"Ok so why do we need anyone else?" Phoebe asks.

"The other person is for fighting demons."

"I think we can handle it Andy," Prue said as she walked to the kitchen.

"Prue this is no time to be proud, there are factions forming now in the underworld and as we all know that Balthazar has been trying to kill you guys for weeks. And there is one more thing." Andy said as he walked back over to Phoebe.

"What nothing for later?" Phoebe said with a little laugh.

"You will be getting Piper's power until she can handle it again."

Phoebe's face fell as she backed up, "Andy I don't want her power it's hers and she will need it, I don't want it." To Phoebe it was like Piper was never coming back and that was something she could not except.

"It's ok, she will get it back once she is better, but right now you can't afford to be down one," Andy answered.

"Andy who is the other?" Prue asks.

"Her name is Paige, she is your half-sister" Andy answered and stood back as both sisters narrowed their eyes at him.

"What?" Prue said completely taken offguard.

In the underworld Cole was talking to the triad.

"Balthazar, we have heard rumors about one of the charmed ones being in the hospital and unable to be healed by her whitelighter," A man in a dark golden robe said.

"What would you like me to do?" Cole asks because he was in his human form.

"Finish her off, and my guess is that her beloved Whitelighter will be protecting her, so get some darklighters to go with you."

"As you wish," Cole answered and started to shimmer away.

"Wait her powers have been moved to the youngest, make sure that is true before you kill Piper, we may need to get her power out of her first."

"I understand," Cole replied and shimmered away.

To be continued…..


	4. Waking sister

Chapter 4

Waking sister

Prue was looking at pictures of her and Piper in the photo album as she sat on the bed; Piper's smile was already being missed along with her laugh. They just found out about Paige and after a very heated argument with Grams and mom, they now know that she is Patty and Sam's daughter that they had to give up because of the rules. Leo went to tell Paige about her new family and at first she was reluctant but now she is somewhat excepting her new sisters, but her destiny is a different matter. Phoebe and her have been wanting to asks Paige to move in sense the power of three was reconstituted as Piper could not even opened her eyes yet.

12 days has passed through time slower than a snail moving across country as Phoebe sat in the kitchen alone at the moment. So far there have been no attacks on Piper or them and she was getting nervous. "_What the hell are they planning_?" She thought while taking a drink of coffee as the night reluctantly became morning. She didn't know why she was up so dam early, but sleep was more elusive then Cole these days. Andy has been staying with Leo at the hospital in case any attack occurs. It's not like Leo can just orb Piper away, she is hooked up to more machinery than Phoebe's school's computer lab.

"Caffeine for your thoughts," Prue said as she entered the kitchen dragging her feet along the way.

"Hi honey and it's fresh I just made it," Phoebe answered still looking into her half-filled cup.

Prue grabbed a cup out of the cabinet and poured herself some hot Mojo. "Phoebe you ok, because you are never up this early?" Prue asks as she sat down next to her.

"I can't sleep."

"You know we need are rest before Piper wakes up."

"I know god it has been a long 12 days. I just wish we could be with her longer than five minutes."

Prue nodded as she took a drink. "Me too."

"My room is a mess," Phoebe said as a tear escaped its enclosure.

"Phoebe its ok that your room is a mess sweetie," Prue said while rubbing her baby sisters back.

"It's not that Prue, Piper would hound me about cleaning my room and I knew that if I just let it go she would eventually clean it. I took advantage of her Prue," Phoebe replied as more tears escaped.

Prue knew what Phoebe meant, now that Piper was not home she realized just how crucial she was to the everyday household task, she cooked, cleaned and kept her sisters in line not to mention the club that has seen better days. Her employees have taken turns visiting Piper in the hospital between their shifts and Prue was grateful for that. Andy knew a witch /accountant who finished the taxes and that was a huge help.

"Is Paige completely freaked out yet?" Phoebe asks in attempts to change the subject.

"Who would blame her," Prue answered.

"Are you going to asks her today, you know to move in?" Phoebe said with a snort.

"I'm going to try because we really need the power of three under one roof," Prue finished and put her cup in the sink.

Andy smiled at Leo who was sound asleep in the oversized chair while she kept vigilant through the night. Nurses and doctors came in and out through the evening and never noticed them. Just has Leo has his cloak so did he. Vampires can move between realms so fast that they are a blur or not seen at all if that is what they wanted. "Leo wake up, we are about to get unwanted company," Andy said and could hear Leo wake from his slumber. Andy moved to his right and vanished from Leo's site as he moved to his left looking around the room. He knew what he was doing, waiting for them to attack and then she would spring on them like a panther stalking its prey. Leo could feel the hair on his arms stand to attention as he moved closer to his wife's bed. Black orbs materialized behind him and Leo turned to face a poisonous arrow. The Darklighter smiled at him, but just as quickly as his lips curled into a pleasurable position, the pleasure was removed by a sword in his chest as Andy came into focus behind him and the darklighter exploded. Two more dark orbs filled the room and Leo pulled out a large knife that Andy gave him earlier and longed at one of the men, dodging an arrow on the way. Andy orbed away and then back behind the other Darklighter and stabbed him. Both men exploded and the danger for the time being was eliminated.

"See Whitelighte's can fight," Andy said as she put her sword away.

"Thanks Andy you for everything," Leo said as he put the knife back behind him.

"No problem Leo you would do the same for me," Andy answered and set down.

"Do you think Paige will work out?" He answered somewhat unbelieving in his own voice.

"I don't know Leo she seems a little overwhelmed right now."

"It's just Piper really needs time to heal and go through rehab so I need Paige to get everything quickly," Leo said as he rubbed his eyes.

"It will be ok Leo Piper is strong and a fighter."

Leo could see light and shadows play on the wall and knew it was morning. He cloaked himself and Jezebell vanished as well because Dr. Jackson came into the room with two nurses.

"I think we are going to try to wake her today, could you call the family and tell them?" Dr. Jackson said to one of the nurses as he took Piper's vital signs. "Does it smell like smoke in here?" He asks looking at the other nurse. "Have one of the technicians look at the equipment." He asks and continued his procedure. Leo was grinning ear to ear, he would be able see those beautiful brown eyes that he has missed for 12 days. He orbed away to tell Phoebe and Prue the great news with Andy in tow.

Phoebe was now dressed and was hanging up the phone when Prue came into the living room.

"Who was that?" Prue asks as she sat down.

"Cole finally I haven't talked to him in a week. He said hi and that he is thinking of Piper," Phoebe said and sat down next to her.

"Wait you told him?" Prue said now facing her sister.

"Prue I know you don't trust him but I do, and I kind of need him right now," Phoebe said in defense of her actions.

"Phoebe half of the underworld is planning right now and we don't need to let people in that we don't know."

Before the baby sister could answer Leo and Andy orbed in. "They are going to wake her up today," Leo said with a wide smile.

"What oh god that's great Leo, do you know what time?" Prue asks now standing up to give him a hug.

"No but they will call."

Prue ran upstairs to get dressed as Phoebe put her shoes on and fussed with her hair. "I can't wait to see her, to hear her voice and see those big brown eyes," Phoebe said as she put her hand to Leo's face. "She's going to be ok Leo, I know it."

Back at the hospital, the sisters and Leo waited outside of the room as Dr. Jackson woke Piper up. They could see through the large window as three nurses unplugged and adjusted the bed so Piper was sitting up slightly. They could hear what was going on in the room as they stood anxiously and nervously outside.

"Piper can you hear me?" Dr. Jackson's asks with his hand on her shoulder. Piper did not respond at first and it seems to take forever for her eyes to open. Finally they did but barely; they could tell she was struggling to stay awake as he asks her questions.

Piper let the image flood her eyesight; it was mostly blurry and hard to make out. She felt so tired that all she wanted to do was close them but she fought the urge and just kept trying to open wider. Everything was moving in slow motion even her thoughts. "_Where am I, what happened, where is Leo_?" She tried to say the words that rambled in her mind but her mouth was working against it. She tried to move her right arm and found it was impossible but she could move her left one at least from what she could tell.

"Piper can you squeeze my hand?" Dr. Jackson asked while holding her left one. He felt nothing and could see that she was trying. He asks her to do the same with her right and he felt a slight squeeze. "Good, now I need you to wiggle your toes for me ok?" She only moved her left foot as her right remained motionless. "Can you feel this?" He asks and poked a sewing needle into her right hand. She nodded and gave a half smile not because she did not want to give off a full one, but the right side of her face was a little paralyzed from her stroke. He did the same to her leg and foot and she could feel the needle. "Good you will start getting your movement back in a couple of days or so ok." The doctor said and continued telling her what happened.

"Rupture, surgery what is he talking about?" She said again to herself trying to keep up with him. "_Stroke oh god_." The last part she understood very well and now started to panic.

"Lwoooooooo," She said.

"What Piper?" The doctor asks as he leaned in.

"loweeeeeeee," She said again getting frustrated that she couldn't speak very well.

"Leo is that what you are saying?" He said and motioned for the family to come in.

Piper nodded at him and then saw him move away as another man came into focus.

"Hi baby how are you feeling?" Leo asks as he took her right hand.

Piper's eyes were blinking slowly as she felt exhaustion but could see her husband. She heard his question but her response was slow and grueling. She wanted to say like a train ran over her and then for good measure a bus. But it just came out grumbled and incoherent. She could see Leo struggle to understand her as he leaned in with one ear. Her voice was low and her throat is killing her. She used her left hand and almost like a zombie pointed to her throat to give them a hint on her predicament.

"I think she is thirsty," Leo said and looked at the doctor.

"She can have ice chips about every hour but that's all she can have right now," He answered and a nurse left the room to go get a cup of ice chips.

Phoebe and Prue were at the end of the bed waiting patiently to say something.

"Honey your sisters are here," Leo said pointing to the end of the bed. Piper's eyes finally focused on the two people at the end. She smiled but again it was a half one as she recognized her sisters.

"Hi honey," Phoebe said smiling back.

"Hi Pipe," Prue said next and put her hand on Piper's foot.

"She will be in and out most of the day and we will be setting her up in the recovery room. There are no visiting restrictions there so you can spend as much time with her as you want," Dr. Jackson said and left the room to give them some privacy as the nurse came in the with a cup of ice chips.

"Here you go sweetie," She said and handed the cup to Phoebe. "Just give her one for right now ok. I will give you some privacy with her.

"Thank you," Phoebe answered while taking out a piece of ice for Piper with a spoon. "Here you go honey." Piper tried to take hold of the spoon to feed herself but Phoebe was much faster and she just let her win this round. The cold smooth ice felt wonderful on her sore throat but the feeling was short lived as the ice melted. She could no longer fight exhaustion and her eyes closed once again but this time in sleep and not a drug-induced coma.

"Good night honey we will be here when you wake up," Prue said and gave her a kiss on the forehead. They all left the room to get some breakfast as the nurses moved Piper to the recovery room.

Cole was hiding around the corner with another daemon beside him.

"Andy and their new sister are going to be a problem," The demon said to Cole.

"Paige what were the odds of them having another?" Cole replied and rolled his eyes.

"Charmed I guess," The demon replied with a snort.

Cole formed a fireball and blow up the demon next to him clearly irritated at the comment.


	5. Ice chips

Chapter 5

Ice chips

It was afternoon now and both Phoebe and Prue were in Piper's room. Phoebe was carrying a bronze colored blanket, Piper's favorite in one hand a duffel bag in the other. The nurse said that they should bring in things she loved so she will feel more at home, and it would help with memory recall. Prue was also carrying a duffel bag and a cup of coffee in the other. They both took a deep breath and entered their sister's room. The nurse whose name is Ann was taking off Piper's cap to look at the incisions that were made a few weeks ago. It was the first time that they saw it and it made them stop in their tracks. It was a shoehorn shape and had the same size has one. She was also shaved on that side of her head that had the same shape around it. Both of them did not what to alarm her so they tried not to pay it any attention as they continued to walk in with smiles.

"Hi honey," Phoebe said and put down the bag and put the blanket at Piper's feet until Ann was done.

"Hi," Piper replied but it was still low and hard to hear her. It was her second day in the recovery room and she was still in and out most of the time.

"Hi Phoebe, Prue," Ann said and put the cap back on.

Leo, Jezebell and Andy were taking naps. They would take shifts and made sure Piper was never alone for any length of time. Ann said that depression is a major factor with this kind of event and she should have family or friends around her as much as possible.

"Hi Ann," Prue said and put the bag down next to Piper's bed. The room was dimly lit mostly because Piper's eyes were still sensitive to light and it made her nauseous. They placed a feeding tube in her stomach but she kept pulling on it, so they had to feed her on a regular basis that the sisters had to handle. Piper was not too keen with the idea of being fed by anyone and tried to do it herself most of the time. But she was slow and sometime refused to eat. All they could do was be patient with her and at times take control and feed her. Phoebe hated it because she could see Piper's eyes water up and knew that she felt embarrassed or ashamed.

"Piper I brought your blanket from the house," She said and put the soft cloth to Pipers face.

"Ankks," Piper said but Phoebe had to lean in to understand her the second time. "You're welcome."

Ann left the room while the two sisters pulled out various things from the bags, including her favorite pajamas and some pictures of the family.

"See we will have this room looking like yours in no time," Prue said and put a picture of her and Leo together on the table next to her.

Piper looked at the photograph and gave her half smile they've grown used to. She then pointed to the shelf on the wall.

"What sweetie," Phoebe asks looking in the direction of were Piper was pointing.

"Ic ichps," Piper said while pointing to a small cup on the shelf with a spoon in it.

"Ice chips," Phoebe answered and walked over to the cup.

"Phoebe she is not allowed to have any right now, it's only been a half an hour," Prue said and continued decorating the room with the items from the bag.

"I'll just give her a small one Prue it will be fine," Phoebe answered and poked around for a small piece of ice.

"Ann said ever hour not every half-hour, and since you did not go to medical school I think she knows what she's doing," Prue said as she stood next to a very irritated sister who was looking back and forth at them. Piper kept pointing and tried to say ice chip again.

"Look it's mostly water," Phoebe said as she held the spoon out so Prue could see but also right in front of Piper, who's thirst needed quenching. She watched her sisters argue about a spoon filled with littler water and decided to take action. After rolling her eyes she took the spoon out of Phoebe's hand and drank the contents of the small plastic spoon.

"Piper," Prue said but could not contain her laugh. The middle sister used to spoon to point at the shelf signifying she wanted more.

"Piper you are so bad," Phoebe said and smiled at her wide. But she kept pointing to the shelf hoping that one of them would give in.

"No honey you have to wait," Prue said and took the spoon out of Piper's hand. She looked defeated and restless but the sleep vial would come once again and she closed her eyes letting her head fall on the soft blanket that she loved.

"Did she just brake up are argument?" Phoebe asks as she covered Piper up to make sure she would not get cold.

"Once the middle sister always the middle sister," Prue answered and sat down in the chair next to the bed pulling out a book to read. Phoebe took a seat in the other chair and pulled out her laptop to do homework. They both sat in silence as Piper slept quietly. This would be the routine for a while, they would come and feed, comfort and talk but in a drop of a dime, she would just fall asleep. The drugs kept the pain away but also made it impossible for her to stay awake for any length of time.

The clock struck five times as Leo rose from the couch, stretching his body in all directions as he rubbed his eyes. It was time for him to take over and it was almost time for Piper's dinner. At least he did not have to wait in traffic so he could sleep longer and get to her sooner because he could orb. Andy was sleeping in Prue's bed. The sisters would be home soon and Leo hated her being alone so made sure to get up in plenty of time. He could not believe the amount of work Piper did on a normal basis and told himself he would help more when she is home. But the emotional toll was also starting to wear them down and it has only been three weeks. Sometimes Piper didn't recognize him or she would ask what happened over and over again. He knew that she would get better in time but he wanted her home in her bed so he could lie next to her, hold her and give her back rubs that she loved. He started to get a taste of what it was like for her when he was gone and he couldn't understand how she gathered enough strength to get out of bed. "God she is strong," Leo said as he took some water out of the fridge and heard the door open.

"We're home," Prue yelled and could hear footsteps on the staircase.

"Hi Prue," Andy said as he yawned while descending the stairs.

"Hi Andy," Prue replied and stopped to meet him.

"How is she?"

"Oh just as ornery as ever," Phoebe replied remembering the spoon incident.

"Hay is she awake?" Leo asks now entering the hallway where everyone was.

"Yap she just woke up when we were leaving," Prue answered.

"I should get going, she's probably starving," Leo said and orbed away.

There was a knock on the door and Prue went to answer it. "Paige I'm glad you're here." She said as Paige walked in.

"Should I be worried?" She replied referring to the possibility of a demon attack.

Phoebe followed her and sat down. "No Paige we need to asks you something."

"Oh good I haven't got the orbing thing down yet," She answered and sat down," How is Piper?"

"It's day by day. Paige I know that you just met us but we would like to know if you want to move in?" Prue asks getting to the point.

"Wow you haven't even bought me dinner yet," Paige answered with an awkward smile

"Paige were sorry, it's just we kind of need a you here in case there is a attack and Piper needs protected until she gets home," Prue replied.

"Um Prue it's not that I don't want to help, it's just I have an apartment, "She answered.

"I know honey and we can get you out of the lease if that is what you're worried about?" Phoebe asks.

"I will think about it," Paige answered.

"Ok that's all we can asks right Prue?" Phoebe said as she was a little irritated in how she asks her, almost completed dismissive Piper's condition.

"Could I take a look at your book?" Paige asks.

"Sure honey it yours too you know," Phoebe replied.

"What are you looking for?" Prue asks a little concerned.

"Maybe there is something can help Piper," Paige answered.

Phoebe felt her heart beat hard," Oh Paige we have tried and it wasn't caused by a demon so it would fall under personal gain."

"It just dosed seem fair."

"None of this is fair Paige unfortunately a very hard lesson you will have to learn," Prue said and went into the kitten.

"One minute," Phoebe said and rushed to the kitchen.

"Actually I need to get back to work," Paige said.

"Ok we will talk later ok, are going to see Piper today?"

"I would like too if I can get off early,"

"Ok honey I will see you then, " Phoebe replied and rushed to the kitchen after Prue.

"Prue what is wrong with you?"

"What?" Prue asks not facing her and looking out the window.

"I know your pissed about what happened but don't take it out on Paige,"

"Phoebe I'm hunger and tried so can we talk about this tomorrow?" Prue answered and left the room.

Phoebe stood there a baffled but she too was exhausted and decided this was a battle for tomorrow.

"They must be planning something big," Prue said concerned as she talked to Andy

"And we are not ready," Prue answered.

He said nothing and just looked into hers; he felt the spark light again as he could feel himself spinning. He loved her so much and wanted nothing more than to kiss those soft lips. Prue did not wait for him to act; she put her hand behind his head and pulled in into affinity. The sounds of glass breaking from the kitchen forced them apart.

"What was that?" Prue said and got up quickly thinking that the attack was happening. But was relieved and confused to see Phoebe standing over a broken plate.

"Dammit," The youngest said with her hands stretched out.

"Were you trying to freeze that?" Prue asks.

"Yes and I can't do it Prue."

"Phoebe it takes time to learn a new power, you just need to figure out what Piper's trigger was," Andy said and started picking up the pieces of plate.

"I know but if we get attacked right now, we're screwed," Phoebe said and helped with the cleanup.

Back at the hospital Leo was helping Piper eat her dinner that was mostly light foods, like Jell-O and pees.

"One more bite honey, please," Leo said while holding up the spoon to her lips. Piper turned away from him and pushed his arm away.

"Piper you need to eat," He said and tried again but she protested.

"Ok we will try again later," Leo sighed in defeat and put the spoon down.

Piper looked at him, her eyes were red from crying earlier and Leo was trying to understand why. She pointed to her head.

"Are you in any pain?" Leo asks.

"My hareefdf," She answered but the last part was hard to understand. Leo leaned in so he could hear her better and she kissed him on the cheek. Leo felt her chapped lips hit his skin and it was wonderful. "You just wanted me to come in close so you could plant one didn't you?" Leo said with a smile and gave her a kiss on the lips. Piper nodded and gave him her half smile in return.

"I love you," Leo said and put his hand to her face. The tears were going away mostly because of her mood swings, one minute she would be okay the next a wave of depression and loneliness. She tried to pick up the Jell-O but dropped it. Her other arm was still unusable for the most part and her other didn't seem to have enough strength to lift even the smallest object.

"It's ok, I got it," Leo said and started feeding her again.

Just as Leo started, four demons shimmered in behind him and Piper's eyes grew large.

To be continued….


	6. First attack

Chapter 6

First attack

Leo could see the fear in Piper's eyes and turned quickly to face the four demons as they formed fireballs.

"Oh god," He said and grabbed Pipers hand."Andy!"

One of the demons throws the fireball at Piper who is trying desperately to freeze them, but with only one hand working and her power removed it is useless. Leo leans over the bed and takes the fireball in the back sending him a crossed the room, knocking him out cold. The other demons see the opportunity to take her out and throw theirs. Piper closed her eyes waiting for the pain to come but after a few seconds when she feels nothing but her own hart beet through her chest, she opens them to see the balls of fire hovering in mid air.

"Thank god," Phoebe said with her hands stretched out as Prue and Andy finished materializing into the room.

"Looks like your getting the hang of it," Prue said and sent the floating fireballs back to their senders and the demons explode.

"Piper are you ok?" Phoebe said running to her bed side.

The middle sister looked at her oddly, "My paewer."

"What honey?" Phoebe asks while squinting her eyes.

"My power," Piper finely got out and looked at Phoebe's hands.

"Oh, well we didn't know how long you would be out and."

"Leo!" Piper said looking around the room remembering her husband taking the fireball.

"Andy's got him sweetie don't worry," Prue answered while holding Piper's shaking hand.

"Good as new," Andy said as he helped Leo up.

"Piper are you ok baby?"

She nodded but she was still breathing fast and put her hand to his face.

"What is going on in here?" Ann said as she ran into the room.

All of them backed away from Piper's bed as Ann checked her, "Piper are you alright?" She asks concerned. "You need to slow your breathing down Piper," Ann was now putting an oxygen mask on her but Piper tried to swipe it away.

"Piper you need this right now," Ann said and put it back on her. Piper rolled her eyes and let Ann win because she was too tired to fight her."Why does it smell like smoke in here?" She asks looking at the very guilty faces around her.

"Candle it fell, "Phoebe said as she put her hands in her back pocket.

"Please put those out if you leave the room. Now go one she needs to rest, go on," Ann used her hand to make her point and motioned them out. Leo leans down and gave his wife a kiss and whispered into her ear, "I will be back in a minute."

Later that day at the hospital Piper was trying to move her arm for the third time sense Leo orbed back in after Ann left. She never felt so venerable and week, she was glad that Phoebe got her power but she missed its comfort when she was alone. Which does not happened much considering either her sisters are with her or Leo. For the first time sense it happened, Piper tried to write on a piece of paper because it took her forever to say anything and she was getting frustrated not being able to talk to her family. She tried to spell I love you, but when she would try to write an I but a B would come out instead, her mind would think one thing but her hand would betray her. Leo was in the bathroom getting her water ready for her bed bath as she kept trying to spell the smallest word. The realization hit her like a train; she would need to relearn everything or she would never be able to say I love you without stuttering or long pause in between. She let her head fall back into the pillow and closed her eyes tight as fear took hold of her. "_I can't do this, what about the club what about my sisters, they have lives and now I am a burden to them. And what about Leo he doesn't deserve a brain damaged wife who can't even say I love you or write it_."

"Piper," Leo's voice was soft as he held the bucket of warm soppy water over to her. When she did not answer her he said her name louder. "Piper," He said again not sure if she was asleep or something else was wrong.

She opened her red eyes as tears escaped them and he put the bucket down quickly to get to her. "Honey are you ok?"

"I bwer ouiu," She tried to say those words she tried to write down but again it came out muffled and she put her hand to her face, covering her eyes.

"I love you too honey and its ok the doctor said you will be getting better soon, just be patient ok," Leo said as he rubbed her shoulder and looked down at the piece of paper she was writing on. The letters were mixed up and were hard to make out, like a two year old trying to do its alphabet. All Piper could do was cry and cry, she was doing it so hard that she started to hyperventilate and it took Leo time to calm her down.

"You start rehab next week, you'll see it will get better I promise," His voice was low and soothing but he could feel the pit of his stomach ache as he held her shaking and crying body.

Prue was sitting down at the kitchen table going through bills as Andy walked in.

"Hay."

"Hay," Prue answered.

Andy had a shy look and tried not to meet Prue's deep blue eyes. "About what happened earlier?"

"Andy I don't regent what I did, I still love you and I can't change that," Prue said while standing up to meet him.

"I love you too Prue but we know what Piper and Leo went through to get married and."

"And we will prove that we can handled it Andy, I just don't want to lose you again," Prue finished and kissed him softly.

Phoebe was in the living room watching TV for the first time in three weeks trying to keep her mind off Piper and the fact that the underworld is trying to kill her. _"Can't they just leave her alone_," She thought while forcefully pushing the buttons on the remote. The door bell ringing made her stop her assault and she answered the door, "I'll get it."

When the door opened Cole was standing there in his dark suit. "Cole," Phoebe said with a smile and hugged him.

"Hi Phoebe, how is Piper?"

"Same but she starts rehab next week, so I think it will start getting better," She answered and let him in as Prue and Andy came to see who was there.

"Hi Prue," Cole said a little awkward, he knew she did not trust him.

"Oh Hi, um Phoebe Andy and I are going upstairs, so if you need anything just yell," Prue said while eyeing down Cole and the baby sister got the hint.

"Ok Prue it will be fine," She replied through her teeth.

The oldest sister and their helper whitelighter ascended up the staircase.

"Have you eaten dinner?" Cole asks.

"No I just got home from the hospital and haven't had time," Phoebe stopped in attempts to hold back tears. "It's just Piper does so much around here and it's a little overwhelming."

"You know what they say, you don't know what you have until it's gone," Cole said and then looked away realizing what he said.

"Cole she's not gone," Phoebe replied as her eyes watered.

He stood there for a moment with his mouth agape trying to recover, "Sorry Phoebe that's not what I meant."

"I know I'm just."

"Hungry," He answered and gave her a hug.

"Let me tell Prue ok," Phoebe said and ran upstairs.

A demon shimmered next to Cole.

"What are you doing, you could give me away?" Cole said while staring down the demon.

"We need a new plan, they are always around her."

"I know but all we need to do is get a hand on her and shimmer her out, but not now so go," Cole said and the demon shimmered out.

Phoebe walked up to Prue's room but could hear some activity behind the door.

"Um Prue I'm going out to dinner tonight with Cole, do you want me to bring you back anything?"

"Yesssssss."

"Ok I don't think that was directed towards me," Phoebe said and hoped her sister herd her."Ok by."

"Yessssssssss."

"Again not towards me," Phoebe said mostly to herself as she walked away with a snort.

To be continued


	7. First steps

A/N:

I corrected the spelling issues in this chapter and reloaded it, sorry about that.

Chapter 7

First steps

Phoebe and Prue were in the small convenience center in the hospital getting coffee as Ann walked in.

"Hi girls," Ann said while getting some water for her glass.

Both sisters said their hellos and continued getting their coffee.

"Piper starts her rehab today."

"Yeah I think she is getting restless," Prue said.

"Ann can we be there while she is getting her therapy?" Phoebe asks.

"Sure but if she starts to become embarrassed then you'll need to wait outside until she is done," Ann replied and left the room.

"Why would she get embarrassed?" Prue asks while taking a drink of her coffee.

"Because she is a Halliwell, you know the whole pride thing." Phoebe answered and headed out of the room with Prue in tow.

Leo was already there waiting for the sisters in Piper's room as two nurses and a physical therapist were prepping Piper for her first walk. It was only going to be a few feet but it was a start. Leo was on the other side of the room when the sisters walked in.

"Hay Leo," Phoebe said and put her coffee down on the table next to him.

"Hay."

"Wow she's got a lot of wires connected to her," Prue said while wrinkling her face.

"Ok Piper let's sit you up," One of the nurses said as she moved Piper's legs over the side of the bed.

Piper let them move her to a sitting position and she could see her family watching her with a mixed bag of worry and smiles. "_God don't fall_," She said to herself as she gave them a half smile back. She still had some paralysis in her face but it was minute. She could move her arm and leg now but it felt like pins and needles most of the time as if they fell asleep. The two nurses stood on either side of her as she was helped to the floor. Everything ached and was stiff from being in bed for almost a month, not to mention her muscles were weak. They have been moving them around almost every day but now she was putting real pressure on her extremities.

"Slowly Piper," The nurse said while helping her stand. Piper took a deep breath through her mouth because she had a tube in her nose that was covered with white tape to keep it in place. It was a feeding tube because she sleeps for 20 hours a day it seemed, so eating only happened when she was awake. She felt her feet touch the cold floor and she closed her eyes enjoying the sensation as she stood up.

"Just try to take one step ok?" The other nurse said while holding onto Piper's arms.

Phoebe held her breath as her older sister took her very first step since this happened. It was slow and straining but her knee bent and she moved forward a couple of inches. She could see the strain in Piper's face go pale as she closed her eyes tight while trying to move. She wanted to say something but she could tell that the nurses were watching Piper very closely and didn't want to undermine them or break her sister's concentration. "_Come on honey you can do it_," Phoebe thought as she bit her lower lip.

Prue put her arm around Leo and could feel the many tension knots that have made their home on his shoulders over the weeks." _She looks pale_," Prue thought as Piper took another small step away from the bed and like Phoebe was in a dilemma but decided to let the nurses do their jobs. "Ok she really needs to sit back down now," She thought again and started to take a few steps forward. Leo was also moving but just as soon as they did the nurses intervened stopping them.

"We got her guys," The one nurse said while helping Piper back to her bed. She had beads of sweat on her forehead and while the one nurse helped her down the other grabbed a bucket for Piper in case she was going to vomit. "Good job Piper and it will get easier, and you took your first steps today," The nurse said as Piper leaned back into the familiar position she has been in for a while. She closed her eyes trying to stop the room from spinning and fought the urge to empty her stomach. "Are you ok Piper?" The doctor said while taking her vitals. She nodded and let out a breath as her color came back to her. "We will let you rest and spend some time with your family but we will do this again soon ok," He said and motioned them to come over.

"That was great Piper," Phoebe said now standing next to her bed with Prue and Leo.

"Thaaaaaa sucked," Piper replied but her speech still needed work.

"It will get better," Leo said in reassurance as he rubbed her shoulder.

"Do you need anything?" Prue asks while holding her hand.

"A nsa boxldy," Piper replied and tried to say it again," A new blxody."

Prue squinted her eyes and try to process what she was saying but Phoebe got it faster, "A new body?" Phoebe said feeling unsure if that's what she meant. Piper nodded and gave her a smile.

"Well we could freeze you until there is a body exchange program," Phoebe said with a little laugh. Piper just nodded in response.

"Are you hungry sweetie?" Leo asks.

Piper nodded but the nurse would have none of it, "Piper no nodding, you say yes or no got it." Piper gave her a glare and said yes. "Good I will bring you something, don't let her fall asleep she needs to start staying awake longer," The nurse said and left the room.

"Ok we are good at keeping her awake," Phoebe replied and grabbed a chair to sit next to her.

"Do you want to watch TV?" Prue asks and grabbed the remote.

"Hungry," Piper said while looking at Leo.

"The nurse is getting you something to eat honey," Leo replied.

Prue fiddled with the remote until she found a show that Piper would like but the middle sister looked a little confused and was looking around the room in a daze.

"Piper you ok?" Phoebe asks noticing her.

"Hungry," Piper said again while looking at Prue.

"I know honey their getting you your breakfast now," Prue replied with a smile and remember the doctor saying that her short-term memory would have issues and she might ask or repeat things many times. "Here you go honey," Prue said while handing Piper the remote," I'm not sure if this is what you want to watch?" It was a romantic comedy and Prue knew how she liked those but Piper was falling asleep as her eyes closed slowly. "Piper you need to stay awake ok, your breakfast will be here soon," Leo said and shook her a little to wake her. The very tired sister did not like the rude awakening and gave Leo a hard look, "sleepy," Piper said and closed her eyes again. Leo took a deep breath and shook her again knowing this would upset his already wary wife.

"Come on honey."

Piper opened her eyes again and seem to have forgotten the first initial wake up, "Hungry," she said looking into Leo's green eyes. Leo gave off a patient smile as he rubbed her hand. "It will be here soon."

Piper would ask three more times before finally the nurse came in with her food, but after eating she asks again. At first they did not know if she was still hungry or if she forgot but she would fall asleep and they would wake her even if it meant a harsh look back in return. This routine went on for over an hour and already Leo and the sisters were getting exhausted and a little impatient. But they would never let Piper see that and continued to answer and comfort a sometimes confused and tired Piper.

Paige was at the manner trying to get use to the idea of moving in. She has been an only child all her life and now had three sisters, one of which she has not met yet. She walked around the grand old Victorian house while looking at pictures of the family as she made her way to the attic. The book was resting in its normal place and she made her way to it as the front door opened downstairs.

"We need to find a way to kill the triad before they kill us," Prue's voice was hard and a little hoarse from exhaustion as she walked into the kitchen and noticed Paige's purse.

"I think we both can agree on that, but we need to avoid killing each other first."

"Is Paige here?" Prue said and left the room.

"Looks like it," Phoebe replied and followed her.

"Ok well I need some sleep so say hi for me," Prue said and went into her room and started to get her pajamas on. She realized that she hasn't done laundry in over three weeks and she had nothing to wear. Prue decided to go into Piper's room to look for some but stopped when she saw her made bed. The once unwavering sister was curled up in a ball on Pipers bed while holding one of her pillows and sobbing heavily. "_I want her home, god I miss her so much I want her home_," Prue whimpered to herself and cried herself to sleep.

Phoebe saw Paige looking at the book and walked over to her.

"Hi Paige," Phoebe said.

"Hi how is Piper?"

"Day by day," Phoebe answered and stood next to her.

"Why can't you guys use magic you know to fix it?" Paige asks.

"Because it wasn't caused by Magic," Phoebe replied.

"So."

"Paige it falls under personal gain, and even if we tried it would probably backfire."

"You don't know that."

"Yeah honey we do, it happened when she got sick and went into a coma. We tried to fix it with magic but it backfired and if it wasn't for Leo breaking the rules on healing her, we would have lost her then," Phoebe replied and wiped her red eyes.

"It just doesn't seem fair," Paige said and sat down on the couch.

"I know but change of subject, have you given any thought into moving in?"

"Yeah but do you think Piper will be ok with it?"

"Paige Piper is the most loving person I know and she would want you to be here."

"I'm sorry I haven't seen her yet, I just don't know what to say to her," Paige said.

"Start with hi my name is Paige," Phoebe replied with a little smile.

"I will bring my things over sometime this week if that is ok?"

"Absolutely," Phoebe answered and hugged her baby sister.

To be continued….


	8. First encounter

A/N:

Thanks for the great review P.M.H and the complement, hope you enjoy this chapter. I will also fix some spelling issues in the last one and repost it.

Chapter 8

First encounter

Paige made her way through the halls of the hospital while looking for Piper's room. Today was the first day she was going to see her other sister and her nerves made a mockery of her normally calm demeanor. Prue and Phoebe had some errands to run and ask if she would stay with Piper until they got done. She couldn't deny the request as she has avoided seeing her, it wasn't that she didn't want to it just brought back bad memories of her grandmother who suffered a stroke about three years ago. As she made her way down the long hallway the images came rushing back, how she could not feed herself or get dressed without someone's assistance and the looks she got from her, like she didn't even know her own granddaughter at times. It was hart braking to Paige because she looked up to her; Susan was one of the women who stood up for women's rights in the 20s and 30s. She was a strong and independent person who hated being waited on by anyone and hated being a burden to her family, even though they loved taking care of her. Paige finally made it to Piper's room and stopped at the door taking a deep breath as she tried to remove the images from years ago. Piper had her head tilted up and was looking out the window that was to her side, but was not easy to see. Paige could tell she was struggling to get a view and she fought back tears as she walked in. The doctors removed a small cap that she wore over her head and the true impact of the injury could be seen. The baby sister could tell Piper was getting exhausted just trying to look out the window as the sun was up and bright this morning. "_Maybe I should move her bed so she could see_?" Paige thought but notices all the wires that were attached and felt un-easy moving her around. She sat down in the chair next to her and Piper didn't notice her at first until Paige put her hand on hers. Piper stopped her attempt to see outside and looked at who was holding her hand and was a little confused when she saw Paige. At first Piper thought she was a nurse but she looked familiar as Paige gave her a warm smile.

"Wh aer u," Piper said but had difficulty getting the words out.

It was then that Paige could see where her surgery was, the left side of her head was missing most of its hair and there was a horseshoe shaped scar that was a little swollen and red. Paige fought back the need to turn away and just squeezed her hand tighter. Piper blinked slowly as the morphine and other medications made it difficult for her to stay awake but her curiosity was piqued and she fought the urge to drift away.

"My name is Paige and I am your half-sister," Paige replied not really knowing how she would react.

"Wh?" Piper asks and began to pull her hand away and felt frightened, but Paige's grip was too much and with her weakened muscles and some paralysis, it made that task impossible. She used her other hand to find the button to call the nurse. Paige could see in Piper's face that she was scared and let go of her hand, "Piper its ok, Prue and Phoebe will be here soon, I just wanted to see you," Paige said and put the flowers she carried in on the table next to the bed and stood up to leave. "I'm sorry Piper; I didn't mean to scare you. I will come back when they are here," She said and started to leave the room. Piper finally got a hold of the device that calls for help but did not push it. "Pafg," Piper said as her sister was heading for the door. Paige turned around and gave an awkward smile; she was not sure what to do and just stood there for a moment as Piper looked at her. "Do you want me to come back in?" Paige asks but did not move from her spot as her sister was clearly in debate on whether or not to push the button or let her back in. Without her powers she was vulnerable and this is the first time she's been alone while she was awake that she could remember, "Ysss," Piper said as a nurse came in bringing in a tray of food.

"Oh hi I don't remember seeing you before," The nurse said as she put the food down on the table next to Piper's bed.

"This is my first time being here," Paige replied and entered the room again.

"Are you a friend?"

"No I am her half-sister," Paige answered and sat down in the chair as the nurse raised Piper's bed so she could eat. "Ok sweetie time for breakfast."

"Should I wait outside?" Paige asks as she played with her hands.

"No you can stay, Piper do you want her to help you today?" The nurse asked and Paige's hart sank, she really wasn't ready for that and from what Phoebe said about her, she gets embarrassed easily. She was a strong independent woman just like her grandmother but her condition made her feel week and helpless. Piper's eyes began to water as though she was pleading with them and the nurse seem to catch on quickly," Ok honey do you want to try yourself"

Piper nodded her head and the nurse raised her eyebrows," Piper no nodding," She said and moved the tray of food in front of her. "Yes," Piper said and her face wrinkled as she struggled to get her good hand free from the sheets. The nurse helped Piper get her hand out and put it on the tray next to the plastic spoon. "Ok your good to go," She said and started cleaning the room a bit, it's not it needed a cleaning is just the nurse didn't want to leave her alone while she ate in case she needed help.

"My name is Ann what's yours?" Ann asks as she took some of the old flowers out of the vases.

"Paige Matthews," Paige replied as she watched Ann clean and she could hear Piper's heavy breathing and knew that she was struggling to eat. "_God please Phoebe get here_," She said to herself not wanting to make her sister more uncomfortable than she already was. Ann looked over at Piper while pouring out the old water from the vases and saw Piper's face and her hand jerked a little as she tried to put the spoon into the mashed potatoes. Her coordination was way off and the communication from her brain to her body was out of sync. Paige turned around and had the overwhelming urge to just run out of the room and find some place devoid of people to cry. "_Shit should I help her_?" Paige's mind was racing and was relieved when Ann came over and took the spoon out of Piper's hand. "Its okay sweetie and your get better soon," Ann said and put the spoon into the mashed potatoes and sat down on the side of the bed.

"I'm going to get some coffee and will be back in a minute. Not really a morning person," Paige said with a forced smile. Piper didn't acknowledge what she said because she was focused on trying to eat and Paige was thankful for that as she stood up and left the room is normally a she could. The minute she was out of Piper's site, she leaned against the wall and let the tears come as people walked by. It was the shock of seeing Piper's head and how it looked, it was the memories of a grandmother she loved dearly and it was the realization that she had sisters and one of them was in really bad shape.

"Paige what's wrong?" Phoebe asks as she ran up to her. "Is Piper ok?"

"She's fine Phoebe it's just," Paige replied as she sobbed.

"Oh honey I'm sorry, I was trying to get here earlier so you wouldn't have to be alone with her. I know how difficult this is for you," Phoebe said as she rubbed her baby sister's arm and remembered what Paige told her about her family.

"No its ok I just didn't think it would be this hard," Paige replied and walked over to the bench that was against the wall.

"I know what you mean sometimes I have to leave the room too," Phoebe said while sitting down.

"She is eating right now."

"Good because she gets grumpy if she doesn't eat," Phoebe said and pulled out a book.

"Harlequin romance wow Phoebe I thought you were more into Steven King stuff," Paige said and smiled a little.

"I am but Piper loves these things, don't asks me why."

"Can she read right now?"

"No not yet but the doctor said it was good to read to her on occasion, it helps with memory."

"Oh maybe I can read Dr. Seuss."

"Hay she actually likes Dr. Seuss," Phoebe said and smiled back at her.

Paige took in a deep breath and felt a little more relaxed that Phoebe was there with her, "I am going to get some coffee, do you want any?"

"Sure and Paige don't feel bad about wanting to leave, trust me we understand," Phoebe said and stood up from the bench.

"Thanks," Paige replied and headed down the hallway to get the hot Mojo she desperately needed.

Phoebe walked in and Piper's face immediately brightened as she gave her half smile while Ann was opening a Jell-O pack," Time for dessert," Ann said.

"You have to be sick of Jell-O," Phoebe said as she sat down in the chair and saw the flowers that Paige must have brought. "These are nice," She said while smelling them.

"Phobdse," Piper said as she took her sisters hand.

"Hi honey how are you feeling today?" Phoebe said and now got a good look at what Paige must of saw earlier and she immediately looked down trying to keep herself from falling apart. "I need to get something be right back," Phoebe said but never looked at Piper as she left the room as calmly as she could. There was a room adjacent that was empty and she went into it, closing the door behind her. "Oh god come on Phoebe get hold of yourself, she needs you," Her mind thought as she paced back and forth in the small room while tears streamed down her already chapped cheeks.

"Phoebe are you ok?" Ann said as she opened the door a little.

"Yeah it's just that it's the first time I've seen her head without the cap," Phoebe replied while taking a deep breath.

"I'm so sorry I should have said something before you came in."

"It's okay I just need a minute."

"I understand I will finish feeding Piper so take your time," Ann said and shut the door.

Phoebe regained her composure and went back into Piper's room as Paige was returning with coffee and they both walked in trying to smile as they insides ached. Ann was moving the tray away so Paige could sit down next to Piper while Phoebe took the other chair.

"Piper this is Paige our half-sister," Phoebe said and Piper just blinked in confusion as she already has forgotten their first encounter from earlier. "I know it's a lot to take in sweetie but mom had her affair with Sam she had Paige but had to give her up, because of the whole Whitelighter in which thing," Phoebe said and knew she would probably have to repeat what she just said.

"Sisgerr," Piper replied and looked at Paige with a mixture of happiness and confusion.

"Hi Piper," Paige said and took her hand again and this time Piper did not pull away.

"I got a book for you today and I thought I can read to you while you slept," Phoebe said and pulled out the Harlequin romance and showed Piper the cover. She looked at it while squinting her eyes and then gave off a small smile as her eyelids began to get heavy. Phoebe opened a small paper bound book and started to read while Paige rubbed Piper's forearm. It only took a few moments for her to fall asleep as Phoebe continue to read and stroked her sisters hair, until she too could feel the sleep veil come over her. She leaned back into the chair and put her feet on the bed, the small book slowly made its way to her lap as her head fell back and her eyes closed. Paige let go of Piper's hand and took a blanket from the end of the bed and used it to cover Phoebe who was already snoring a bit. A few hours have passed since she got there and Phoebe was reading to her for about 45 minutes before she fell asleep. Paige was exhausted as well and wanted desperately to find a bed as she stretched and walked over to the window. It was then she could see what Piper was trying to look at, there was a family of squirrels in a nest on one of the tree limbs and they were adorable. The mother was dropping nuts in front of them and the little baby squirrels were trying desperately to open them but of course needed much help as they mother would crack them open. Paige looked back at Piper who was sleeping soundly with her head to one side against a soft blanket, while Phoebe's hand rested on her sister's forearm. In an odd way it resembled the squirrels, the mother helping the babies survive and that is what Phoebe, Prue and Leo were doing for Piper, giving her a chance to survive. Paige whispered goodbye to both of them and headed out the door while turning off the light as the afternoon was fast approaching. It was Saturday and was glad she had the day off but for her other sisters there seemed to be no days off, either they were at work are trying to keep the club alive but most of their time was here, just trying to protect Piper from the countless attempts on her life from demons. She felt so out of place at the manner but knew it would take time to get used to having three other siblings, one of which was a little incoherent most of the time. She would make her way back home and Prue was getting ready to go to the hospital as she walked in.

"Hay," Prue said as she grabbed her purse.

"Are you going to the hospital?"

"Yeah do you want to come?"

"No I just came back but Phoebe is there now," Paige replied.

"How did it go?"

"I'm not sure," Paige replied and pressed her lips together.

"I'm sorry Paige, Piper is a great person and she is funny and fun to hang around with. It's just you know because of what happened," Prue said as she opened the door.

"I know trust me I do and she will get better."

"Thanks Paige, oh that reminds me Leo is going to redo the attic so that you can stay there."

"Don't demons attack a lot up there?" Paige asks while she played with her hands.

"Honey they attack everywhere and don't worry it will be nice," Prue said and left out the front door.

Paige was now alone in the manner as she contemplated the proposal of sleeping in the attic, it was a huge room but she still felt a little uncomfortable around them as she was not sure how to act most of the time. Prue was definitely the leader of the group and Piper used to be like the UN when it came to arguments between Prue and Phoebe, but so much has changed and all of them were struggling just to make it day by day. "Would she get better?" Paige thought as her grandmother didn't and after a couple years actually died from loneliness and depression, she stopped eating and her will was gone. Even though the family was always around her, her inability to speak, to take care of herself was too much for her to handle in the end. The once strong and independent woman that marched down streets for the rights to vote died because she could not speak one simple sentence. Paige made her way to Piper's bedroom and looked around the room for a moment before finally making it to the bed. Pictures of her and her sisters with Leo were silent reminders of how fragile life truly is. She let her self cry and fell asleep as the day moved forward and hoped that Piper would be able to come home soon so she could get to know her better.

To be continued...


	9. Someone talk to me

A/N:

Sorry for how long this took to update but I had some computer problems. Thanks for the reviews and this story will be completely different then the original from this chapter on.

Chapter 9

Someone talk to me

Prue was rushing down the Hospital hallway's caring a small white bag and a coffee in the other, "_Shit I'm late_," She thought as she came into Piper's room. Leo was sitting next to her watching the TV as Piper was eating.

"Sorry I'm late Leo," She said a little out of breath as she put the bag and coffee down.

"It's ok, she just finished eating, Piper I need to go to work but Prue is here ok?" He said and kissed her on the cheek. "I love you."

"I ove ou too," Piper replied as she tried to kiss him back but he was already orbing away and she lowered her head as Prue sat down next to her.

"Did you get enough to eat?"

Piper nodded as she watches Prue take out some things from the white bag and place them on the bed. At first she thought it was going to be books or cards, but was a little surprised when she saw it was paper work. She squinted her eyes trying to focus on the small lettering as her older sister pulled out pen. She wanted to make a joke referring to being unplugged but her mind could barely put the sentence together, let alone get it out.

"What's tat?" Piper asks.

"Oh it's just some paper work I need to get done sweetie, do you want to watch something different on TV?" Prue replied and grabbed the remote.

"I help," Piper said and pushed the remote away.

Prue just looked at her sister and could see the desire in her eyes but knew she could not really help her with it. "Sure, I dropped these when I got out of the car and now they are out of order. Just put the pages in order," Prue replied and handed her a stack of papers. Piper took the small stack in both hands and laid them on her lap as she was getting better use of her hand. Prue started looking over her pile while using a highlighter to mark certain parts as Piper just stared at the papers. She could not remember why she had them and started to feel uneasy as Prue continued to work. She would look from the paper work and then back to Prue hopping her memory would kick in. "Dammit what do I do?" She thought as she started mixing the pages up and started to panic thinking she was messing it up. Prue looked up and could see she has forgotten what she needed to do. "Piper could you put those in order for me?" She asks in hoped of jugging Piper's memory.

"Yes," Piper replied and felt a little better as she put the pages from one to ten in order but as she was doing the rest, she forgot what she was doing and started messing the ones that were in place.

"Thanks Piper," Prue said and took the pages off her lap and put them back in the white bag. She knew that it was not done but did not have the time to give her the instructions again.

"For hat?" Piper asks as she had no idea what she just did.

"For helping," Prue replied and went back to working on her task as Piper gave her a week smile still unsure of what she did. She wasn't Interested in TV and wanted more than anything for someone to talk to her, not just how are you doing or did you need a blanket, but like they used too. Piper looked out the window to her side and watched the squirrels in there next. It has been a few weeks and the babies could now open they own nuts while moving much quicker and easier than before. The doctors said she would take her first real walk today and she was looking forward to it but was a little scared that she would not be able too. Ann walked past her room and saw Piper looking out the window while Prue was doing some kind of paper work and she paused for a moment to see if Prue was talking to her.

"Prue could I speak to you for a moment?" Ann asks.

"Sure," Prue replied and left the room.

In the hallway Ann had Prue follow her to an empty room where they could talk in private.

"Is everything ok?" Prue asks a little nervous, usually when they talk to any of them alone it was something bad about Piper's Condition.

"Prue I know it is hard but Piper really needs conversation," Ann replied.

"I don't understand we talk to her all the time," Prue replied as she started feeling defensive.

"No you ask how she is, or if she needs something those questions are ok but it's not engaging or personal," Ann replied.

Prue lowered her head as she understands what she meant and felt her eyes begin to water.

"Prue you guys are doing a great job of being there for her and trust me it matters, but she needs a little more, do you understand?"

"Yeah I just don't know what to talk to her about sometimes."

"What did you used to talk about?" Ann asks.

Prue tried not to laugh at that question, "_Well demons, elders and the book of shadows_," She thought while Ann waited for a reply. "She owns a club so we talked about bands and you know sister stuff," Prue replied.

"Then do that, yes she will have difficulty entering or concentrating on the conversation. Yes she will forget what you said sometimes and you will need to repeat yourself. The point is she needs to feel like she is still involved with your lives and not alone in hers."

"Thanks Ann I will do that," Prue replied and they both left the room. The elder's sister stopped before entering Piper's room trying to think of something they could talk about and felt a little guilty about doing her paper work in front of her. Prue stepped in but was curious of what Piper was looking at out the window so she made her way over to see.

"They are so cute," Prue said and looked at Piper who was crying and then looked away from Prue in attempts to hide it. "Piper I am so sorry that we haven't really talked since this happened, what do you want to talk about?" Prue said and sat next to her on the bed.

Piper looked at her older sister and her eyes brightened a little but then fell when she could not think of what to ask. "_How is the club, has there been any demon attacks, how is Paige did she move in_?" Were just some of the things that ran through her head but again had difficulty getting them out? "Paige," Piper said hoping her sister would understand what she meant.

"Yes are new half-sister, well she doesn't clean her room on a regular bases, which by the way is the attic now, Leo did a great job of finishing it." Prue said and held Piper's hand.

"Club?" Piper asks.

"It's doing ok but it really needs your touch."

"Paige?" Piper asking as she forgot she already did. Prue repeated the early answer to that question as though it was the first time she asks. Piper looked at the paper work, "What is that?" Piper asks and this time in a clear voice which caused Prue to smile.

"Oh it's nothing, just stuff from my work but I can do it later. Have you given them names yet?" Prue asks while looking out the window.

"Rodents," Piper replied and both laughed.

They both would talk for another hour and even though Prue had to repeat herself many times, she felt connected again to Piper as they would laugh and giggle. The doctor came in with a few nurses as Ann moved some furniture around in the room because it was time for Piper to take her first real walk.

"Ok Piper are you ready?" Ann asks as she pulled her blankets down while some of the other nursed moved some of the tubes and wires so Piper could get out of bed. Prue stood to the side and was excited to see her walk but also a little frightened. One of the nurses brought in a walker to aid Piper as Ann and the docked moved her legs over to the side of the bed so she could stand. After a few moments mixed grunts from Piper, she was up and holding on to the walker.

"Piper just take a few steps at first," Ann said.

Prue kept her eyes fixed on Piper's face as she took that few steps. Her eyes were intense and her arms shook from all of the pressure she was putting on them. There was at least 10 feet of tubes and wires behind her that a nurse held while Piper walked forward as she would lift the walker up and place it back down to take another step.

"Good job Piper, keep it up," Ann said as she walked besides her.

Piper did keep it up and walked a crossed the length of the room until she reached the far wall. She was breathing heavily but wanted to keep going. "Window," Piper said though gasp and at first Ann was not sure but Piper was persistent," Window," She said again and started moving, not caring if they were beside her or not.

"Ok I guys we are going the window," Ann said and stayed with Piper the whole way.

Prue found it hard to contain her tears and kept her whimpers low as Piper made her way to the large window.

"Well you did much better than we thought you would, great job Piper," Ann said as she looked out the window. Piper placed her shaking hand on the glass and could feel the coldness on her palm that was caused by the outside but could feel her legs giving out. Ann was quick as Piper's legs started to buckle and help her back to bed. "I will get you some water, but you need to rest now ok?" Ann said as Piper leaned back onto the pillow but was smiling a bit as she breathed heavily.

"That was great Piper," Prue said as she sat next to her." I thought you were going to make a run for it."

"To ired," Piper replied while she regained her breath.

Ann came in with the water and after a half an hour Piper was fast asleep. Prue gave her a kiss on the forehead and was a little exhaust herself as the day moved ahead. As she waited for her replacement to take over, she headed for the window once again and after a yawn she could see the baby squirrels playing like they should be, but one was still in the nest and even looked hurt. It would watch its siblings play and sometimes would even try to participate but would only get a few feet out of the nest until its mother pulled it back in. There was something wrong with its left leg and looked either broken or deformed. Prue knew that the mother would not keep feeding it and it would either sink or swim. She looked over at her sleeping sister and could only imagine what was going on in her head. "Y_ou have to be so scared, were not going to abandoned you Piper I promise_," She thought as she covered her up with another blanket as the air went on.

"You know Construction workers can start you day off right sometimes," Phoebe said as she walked in.

"What?" Prue asks.

"The whistling and hollering," Phoebe replied as she sat down.

"The crude remarks."

"Only if you're the sensitive type," Phoebe said as she pulled out a book. "Is she asleep already?"

"Yeah she did a walk today, she went from one end to the other," Prue replied.

"That's great," Phoebe said and smiled wide.

"Phoebe we need to talk later ok."

"Why is everything ok?"

"She is fine its more about us, I will explain tonight ok," Prue said and started to leave the room.

"Ok, I love you," Phoebe said as her sister left.

"I love you too."

To be continued….


	10. Going home

A/N:

Sorry for how long this took to get out. I had to go to Texas for my niece's graduation and I am in the process of moving, so it's been a little hectic.

I also took down the website for now but it will be back up soon as I went to a free one.

Thank you for your patience and I should be back on track and hopefully can do an update once a day.

Chapter 10

Going home

Piper was standing by the window that has been her only connection to the outside since this happened as Phoebe packed her bags while Prue helped. The nest that held a family of squirrels was empty except for one that still remained alone and was very thin and sick looking from lack of food and water. She doesn't know why she even cared about the little disease with far but she understood its plight as spring was giving away to winter. The nest was falling apart as the little squirrel put itself into a ball as rain came down on it and Piper put her hand on the cold window as a tear rolled down her face. It was going to die because it had no one to help it, no one to keep it warm or feed it. Its siblings left a few weeks ago and so did its mother and now it was truly alone in its big world. As she looked away she got a look of herself in the window, she too was very thin and pale from months of being in the hospital.

"Piper are you ready?" Phoebe said as she put her hand on Piper's shoulder.

The middle sister nodded and wiped her face with the sleeve of her sweater that was far too big on her. Prue brought the walker over to her and at first Piper pushed it out of the way and tried to walk but almost fell flat on her face as Prue grabbed her.

"Piper you need this right now ok," Prue said and placed it in front of her again. Piper put both her hands on the bars and reluctantly walked forward as her sisters walked next to her. It was slow and exhausting just to take steps but she forced herself to make them, "I won't be like that squirrel," she thought while moving slowly forward.

"Do your exercises Piper and call me if you need anything," Ann said as she stood by the door while they walked past her.

"Anks An," Piper tried to say thanks but her speech was still not working very well.

"Take care sweetie," Ann replied as Piper made her way out the door.

"Leo is bringing the car around and Paige is getting things ready at home honey," Phoebe said as Piper's face was intensely focused on the ground and trying to move her feet one in front of the other. It took over a half an hour to reach the front desk and she was sweating and breathing heavy as her arms shook while trying to keep her self-standing. All she wanted to do was lay down and sleep in her bed but she had to get home first.

"I got it," Prue said as she signed her out.

"I am so glad you're coming home Piper," Phoebe said as she gave her a kiss on her sisters flushed cheek. Piper gave a sideways smile but it was short as she struggled to stay standing.

Leo walked in and gave her a gleaming smile as he entered the two big doors, "Hay baby you ready?" he said as he kissed her on the lips.

"Yes," she replied and started her slow walk again. All of them walked besides her as Leo took off his jacket and placed it around her to keep her warm from the cold wind. Leo opened the passenger side of the door but Piper stopped and looked around confused as her eyes dotted around.

"Did you forget something?" Prue asks but she did not reply and just kept looking around as her breathing increased.

Leo could tell she was confused about what was going on," You're going home today honey," he said as he took the walker out of her shaking hands. She nodded and the confused expression changed to understanding and happiness as she let him guide her into the car. The news they got earlier that day was not good as Phoebe remembered the conversation from the doctor. He said that because of the extensive damage in her brain from the rupture and the fact that she has shown very little improvement for at least three weeks that this was probably more permanent then temporary. Her motor functions should get better but she will still have issues walking and holding things. Her speech will also not improve much and even after speech therapy she will still have trouble with normal conversation. Her short term memory will not come back as they hoped. Piper would need 24/7 care and someone will need to be with her most of the time as she gets confused very easily and could hurt herself or wander off. None of them wanted to accept this and just kept telling themselves that she would get better but the reality was too hard to ignore. After Leo helped Piper into the seat and put her seat belt on, he rushed over to the driver side as Prue and Phoebe got in. The elders still could not help in healing her, not because they didn't want too, it was because they couldn't.

"Do you remember the address Piper?" Prue asks as she closed her door and Piper nodded but Prue would not allow it. "Piper you need to talk ok."

"1331 Pres eet?" Piper replied and started biting her lower lip as she tried to remember.

"1329 Prescott Street," Prue correct it her, "But you were close."

Piper looked out the window as they pulled away from the hospital and felt embarrassed about getting the address wrong, "_How could I forget where I live_?" she thought as they pulled away. Leo wanted to orb her home but Prue was afraid she would get sick because of it and she needed fresh air. The drive was mostly silent on the way home as most of them were to exhausted or slightly uncomfortable to carry on a conversation. They were afraid of hurting her feelings or making her confused, even Prue was going back to her old habits when it came to talking to her. After 10 minutes of driving, they arrived home and Leo helped Piper out as Prue got the walker from the back of the jeep. Paige opened the door and waved as they approached.

"Hi Piper, I am so glad your home," Paige said as she stood to the side to let them through.

"Hi," Piper replied as she paused for a moment at the step to gather enough strength to step up.

"I think the couch would be the best stop for now, you need to eat and then you can go to bed if you want?" Phoebe asks as she walked past her and put the bag of Piper's medicines and other things she will need on the Fourier table.

"How was the drive?" Paige asks as she helped Piper sit down.

"Long," Piper replied as she leaned her head back onto the soft couch. It's been three months since she has stepped foot into her home and she took in all the smells and sounds as she closed her eyes.

Paige smiled and sat next to her and put her hand on Piper's. She was wearing the cap because of the cold outside and Leo's jacket was still around her. "How about some Jell-O?" Paige said and tried to not smirk as Piper opened her eyes and gave her a look of disgust at the thought of eating that again.

"No ollo," Piper replied and then tried to say it correctly but it just kept coming out wrong. She sighed heavily and lowered her head.

"How about steak?" Paige said quickly as she could see Piper was getting embarrassed and frustrated. The older sister smiled and nodded.

"I will start it," Phoebe said and took off to the kitchen with Prue in tow.

"Phoebe you can't cook," Prue said as she took the steak out of the freezer.

"Neither can you so maybe if we both do it we won't kill her," Phoebe said as she took out a pan.

"When Piper goes to bed I need to talk to you and Paige ok?"

"Prue what is going on?"

"I don't want to talk about it right now so let's try to make this a good tasting steak."

"How about we just reach for edible," Phoebe replied as she turned on the stove.

Leo sat next to Piper and took his jacket off and put a blanket around her as she snuggled in close. She placed her head on his shoulder while he rubbed her arm. Now it felt like home and she loved every minute of it while Paige snuggled in as well. After dinner that took over an hour for Piper to eat her hard steak that was just edible, but it was the best steak she has had in three months, Leo picked her up and took her to their bedroom.

"Ok that was horrible," Phoebe said as she put her fork down.

"What do you mean?" Prue asks as she looked angry at what Phoebe said.

"The steak."

"Oh," Prue said and her expression softened.

"What did you think I meant?"

"I thought you were making fun of Piper for how long it took her to eat," Prue replied and stood up from the dining room table with her plate.

"Prue I would never do that," Phoebe said as she stood up as well.

"I know Phoebe I'm just a little overprotective of her right now," Prue said as she headed for the kitchen.

"Phoebe said you needed to talk to us when Piper went to sleep," Paige chimed in and hoped it would change the subject.

Prue put her dish in the sink and turned around to face them. "It's about the club, we can't keep it going and we need to sale it."

"Piper loves that club," Phoebe said as her hart broke at the thought of telling Piper.

"I know but it is losing too much money and her hospital bills are extensive, we could sale it and that should take care of the bills and give her some extra for therapy," Prue replied.

"Are you sure there isn't a way?" Paige asks hopefully.

"No Paige, I will tell her sometime next week. Right now I want to her to settle in and get comfortable again."

"Hay there is a spell in the book that lets you hear internal thoughts," Paige said as Prue cut her off.

"Paige I know you want to help but it will just piss her off and we may accidentally think something we don't want her to hear."

"So we just be careful."

"Prue is right honey, Piper needs to learn how to speak again and that is just an easy way out."

"Fine but the doctor said that she will not get any better," Paige said as she folded her arms.

"Yes she will Paige we just need to be patient and force her to practice," Prue replied.

"Listen we are all tired, so we will talk about this in the morning ok?" Phoebe said as she walked out and headed for the stairs.

Prue and Paige looked at each other silently for a moment until Paige went to her new room that was in the attic as Prue went to hers.

Leo helped Piper undress and for the first time in a while he got a good look at her. He could see her rib cage and her pale body as she looked down to the floor while sitting on the edge of the bed. His lower lip quivered as he held back tears and helped her put on her pajamas. She looked up into his shining eyes as he adjusted her shirt.

"I ory," she said as her eyes watered. They were supposed to get married and now she was not sure if that would even happen let alone if he still wanted too.

"For what honey?" Leo asks confused as he looked into her eyes.

She tried to speak but found it too difficult and instead rubbed Leo's ring finger with hers hoping he would understand. Leo squinted his eyes as he tried to make sense of what she was telling him and after a few moments he got the hint. "Piper this doesn't change how I feel about you, I love you and I will marry you," he said and kissed her on the forehead. Piper smiled but felt guilt rush through her, he is such a good man and he deserves better than this was all she could think about as he helped her lay down on the bed. He wanted to make love to her but was afraid that she was not ready or it would hurt her somehow. Piper could see the want in his eyes and even though she was exhausted she wanted him too.

"It ok," she said as she rubbed his forearm and Leo smiled as he kissed her lips. He went slow and gentle as he reconnected to his lover once more.

To be continued…


	11. Cold hard truth

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews everyone and glad to be back. I hope to have the new website up soon.

Chapter 11

Cold hard truth

Leo awoke next to Piper whom was sleeping peacefully next to him. Her eyes were closed but dark circles encased them as her breathing was soft and rhythmic. He put his hand on her partially shaved head and traced the horseshoe scar that was now pale like her complexion and was a little bumpy as he moved his finger across it. He could also feel stubble as her hair was in attempts to grow back from being removed for the surgery. Leo tried to heal her again but again nothing and his heart sank as he rubbed her soft cheek. "_Dammit please let me heal her_," he whimpered to himself as he heard the door open to the bedroom.

"Leo is she awake?" Phoebe asks quietly. He did not reply and just put his finger to his lips and got out of bed to meet her at the door.

"Not yet and she needs to rest," he said as he shut the door softly.

"Did she sleep well?"

"Yeah and it was nice to have her in the bed again," he replied and started walking down the hallway.

Phoebe smiled as Paige came out of the attic with her eyes half closed. "This family gets up way to dam early," she said as she shuffled past them heading for the bathroom.

"Tell me about it," Andy said as he stepped out of the other bedroom.

"Where is Prue?" Phoebe asks.

"She got up about an hour ago," he replied.

"Good that means coffee is made," Leo said and headed for the staircase as Paige stepped out of the bathroom.

All of them went downstairs where Prue had her head on the kitchen table and was snoring as they walked in. "Prue honey, why don't you go back to bed?" Andy said as he gently nudged her. Prue woke up quickly and immediately stood up almost causing the chair to topple over. "Piper is she ok, is there a demon?" she asks as her eyes blinked rapidly.

"She is fine and no demon," Andy replied while rubbing her back. Prue let out a sigh of relief as she sat back down.

"Morning sunshine," Phoebe said as she poured a cup of coffee.

"What time is it?" Prue asks while stretching.

"10:30 and Piper is still sleeping so you can go back to bed," Paige said as she sat down.

"No I need to get ready for a photo shoot but call me when she wakes up," Prue said as she headed out.

"Andy Prue needs to get some rest, she has been going none stop since this happened," Phoebe said worriedly.

"I know I will talk to her," he replied as he sat down and tried to wake himself up.

Upstairs Prue stopped in front of Piper's door and opened it slowly to not wake her. She peeked in and the sun was hitting her face and the scar. "How are we going to do this?" she said to herself as the realization of the fact that they were still the charmed ones and demons were going to attack soon, she could feel it. "_I swear if they hurt her_," she said through her teeth as she closed the door and headed for her bedroom to get dressed. Outside the manner Cole was standing across the street eyeing the house as he was deep in thought when another demon walked up next to him.

"The triad is growing impatient," the demon said.

"I will strike when it is time and not sooner," Cole replied not taking his eye off the house.

"She is week and powerless."

"They are never powerless."

"It's your skin not mine but if you don't act soon, then I will," the demon said and shimmered away.

Cole took in a deep breath as his emotions were conflicted, he was in love with Phoebe and knew killing Piper would devastate her. He closed his eyes tight as he tried to keep his human half from taking over and shimmered away.

Piper opened her eyes slowly and for a moment was confused where she was, as the smell of disaffected was not found but instead the scent of fabric softener filled her nostrils. It was then she remembered that she was home but was alone in her room. She sat up and struggled to get her feet to the cold hard floor as the sun hit her in the eyes and she had to place her hand in front of her face to block out the intense ray. She sat as her body wake from its slumber and her mind was still cloudy as her head ached a little. She put her hand to her scar and cringed at how it felt as she tried to stand up but just sat back down as her legs felt week. The sun took refuge for a moment behind the clouds and gave her a reprieve from its elimination. She could now see her room clearly and just focused on making small movements as she used the bed to stand. It was slow and tedious but she did manage to make it to the bathroom and placed her shaking hands on the counter in front of the medicine cabinet mirror. She slowed down her breathing as she stared into the white porcelain sink. She did not want to look at herself but human nature is a powerful force that makes anyone face their worst fear. She closed her eyes and raised her weary head, "_Come on just look_," she said to herself as she opened her red eyes. She could see the scar and the fact that half her head was shaved but some hair was coming in. Her eyes were bloodshot and dark circles made it very clear that she still needed rest. She was taken out of her world when she heard her name being called from the door.

"Piper it's going to heal honey but you should have called for one of us to help you get up," Prue said as she put her hand on Piper's shoulder.

"Orry," Piper replied as just that simple word of saying sorry was more difficult than she could imagine.

"It's ok but you need to take it slow ok," Prue said and helped Piper back to the bed.

Piper watched her older sister get some clothes out for her to ware and could see how tired Prue looked. She knew that they were always with her and it had to be exhausting. She felt like a burden and it was just her first day home. Prue helped her stand up and began to dress her and Piper had flashbacks of when she was little and how Prue would help her then. She tried to help but found her speed was far too slow as Prue put a t-shirt on her and a pair of sweats.

"Are you hungry?" Prue asks with a loving smile.

Piper just nodded but Prue tilted her head and she knew that she was not allowed to just nod, "Yes," Piper replied and let Prue help her to the staircase.

"One step at a time Piper."

"K," she said and began the slow descent and finally made it into the kitchen where everyone was still waking up. Leo stood up from his seat and helped Piper in the rest of the way and sat her down.

"You didn't try to make the stairs yourself did you?" he asks.

"No, ure elped," Piper replied and hoped they understood her as she looked at them.

"Good it's just too early sweetie, but you will get stronger," Leo said and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Phoebe asks.

"No Prue elped," Piper replied as she repeated herself from earlier.

Phoebe just smiled and asks again as though it was the first time.

Piper ran words through her head and tried to determine the one she could actually speak, "toast," she said after a few moments.

"Toast is that all?" Paige asks and Piper just nodded.

"Ok," Phoebe said and began the process of making her breakfast.

"I need to go but if you need anything just call me," Prue said as she kissed Piper on the cheek and then Andy on the lips. "I love you," she said to both of them and left the kitchen.

Piper was too delayed in saying it back as Prue left and just started playing with her hands. Phoebe put the toast on a plate and put it on the table. "Here you go honey."

"Anks," Piper said and used her good hand to pick up the toast. Leo looked up at the familiar jingles ring from his head and he rolled his eyes. "Sorry Piper but I need to go up there for a moment," he said and kissed her on the head as he orbed away.

"Looks like things are going back to normal," Paige said without thinking and immediately gave an apologetic look to Piper who just smiled at her.

"Is there anything you want to do today Piper?" Phoebe asks while her older sisters ate her breakfast slowly.

"Outside," Piper replied.

"Do you want to go to the park?" Paige asks.

Piper looked up and fear could be seen in her face as she put her hand to her head.

"Sweetie please don't let that bother you we can put your cap on and no one would know," Phoebe said as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Piper pointed to the patio outside as she was not ready to face the world just yet.

"Ok I will get you a jacket it's kind of chilly," Phoebe said and got up to retrieve one while Paige put Piper's plate in the sink.

"Prue said you like to put crossword puzzles together, do you want to do one today?" Paige asks.

Piper was still not very comfortable around Paige, mostly because she did not know her that well yet and was not sure how to act around her. The thought of doing a crossword puzzle made her nervous as her one hand still was not fully functioning and she felt like an idiot most of the time. Paige could see how uncomfortable she was and changed the subject to something else. "I could rent a movie, Phoebe tells me you like romantic comedies, I am more of an action-adventure but I like those too."

"Paige let her wake up first," Andy chimed in laughing a little as he tried to break the uneasiness.

"Sorry Piper," Paige said.

"It ok," Piper replied as she took a drink of her Orange juice but the glass slipped out of her hand and fell to the ground breaking into pieces. She stared at it for a moment until she tried to pick up some of the broken glass and was stopped by Andy. "I got it," he said and used a towel to wipe up the orange juice as Paige got a dustpan. Piper was now getting pissed and was determined to get better because she couldn't stand people waiting on her hand and foot. The doctor gave her a list of exercises but she had trouble reading the list and was not sure where it was at the moment. It only took a few moments for them to finish cleaning up as she tried to find a way to asks for it.

"ist?" Piper said but the looks she got back was a good indicator they didn't understand what she said. "ist?"

"Sorry Piper but I don't know what you mean sweetie," Paige replied and felt her stomach turned slightly.

"List?" Piper replied but still everyone was confused.

"What list?" Andy asks.

Piper began to bite her lower lip and play with her hands more vigorously as she searched for a way to communicate. Phoebe came in with a jacket and placed it around Piper.

"Phoebe do you know what list means?" Paige asks.

"Um I think it is the list for exercises, why?"

"Piper wants it," Paige replied.

"Ok I will get it."

"We can do them outside if you want?" Paige asks.

Piper nodded and was waiting for the disapproving look but her baby sister just smiled at her.

"Paige!" Phoebe yelled from the other room as the sound of breaking glass echoed through the house.

"Piper stay here and Andy stay with her," Paige said as she ran out. Piper tried to get up but Andy made her sit back down. "No Piper stay put they can handle it," he said as she struggled against him. She was not about to sit down while her family was being attacked but she was still too week and lost the battle with him.

In the living room two demons were frozen in place as Phoebe stood up after being knocked down while a fireball hovered over her head. But the frozen state was not lasting long as one was coming out of it.

"Oh shit what do we do?" Paige asks as this was still a little new to her.

"Invite them to dinner - kill them!" Phoebe said as she gave her sister as sarcastic look.

"No need to be mean," Paige said and looked at the fireball that was hovering and tried the same trick she's used on the candle in the church, "Fireball!" she said and it orbed to her and then she moved her hand to the demon that was coming out of the freeze. The fireball hit him and he exploded. "Cool," Paige said as she was clearly impressed with herself at the moment.

"Paige there is still one left so don't get cocky," Phoebe said as she picked up a broken chair leg and stabbed the frozen demon with it, causing him to explode.

"Now can we get cocky?" Paige asks as she started cleaning up the mess.

"Is everything ok?" Andy asks as she stood by the door.

"Yep we got it," Phoebe replied as Piper pushed Andy out to the way to check on them.

"I killed a demon," Paige said proudly as she smiled at Piper.

"I help," Piper said as she started to help clean up but Andy stopped her.

"Piper you need to take it easy," he said as he tried to move her away from the broken glass.

"No I help!" she said more adamantly.

"It's ok Andy we will keep an eye on her," Paige said and handed Piper some pieces of wood.

"Paige she doesn't have any shoes on, she will cut her feet."

Piper gave Andy a hard look, "I not child," she said and took the pieces of wood into the kitchen.

Andy and the others stood silently realizing how they were treating her but in some way she was like a child right now and they did want her to get hurt. Piper came back with a broom and dustpan but stopped when she saw the mess. "What ppened?" she asks as the memory was gone of the demons that just attacked.

"We had an attacked honey but its ok they are dead," Phoebe said as she took the broom and dust pan out of her hand.

"I help," Piper said and Phoebe was not about to start that argument again and just nodded. They watched her intensely as she swept the broken glass into a pile but that took at least 10 minutes to do. She tried to bend down and almost fell flat on her face but Andy managed to grab her in time.

"I help," she said again as though it was the first time she asked.

After about half an hour the mess was cleaned up and Phoebe took Piper outside with her list of exercises with Paige and Andy. All of them would help her go through the list as the afternoon went on.

To be continued...


	12. Mind Link

A/N:

My website is back up now and the link is in my profile.

Chapter 12

Mind Link

Paige stood by the book in the attic which was now her bedroom as the sun disappeared over the horizon. "_I know this will help_," she thought as she looked at a page labeled Mind Link. She knew that Prue and Phoebe would not approve but she could see how Piper was struggling and she felt for her. "_Why would they not want to do this_?" she continued her thinking as she rubbed her fingers over the words. "_I may be new at this but I'm not stupid_," she said to herself. Paige checked Piper's bedroom and could see she was asleep and Leo was gone. "He must be with a charge," she whispered and checked the other rooms. Phoebe was out with Cole and Prue was with Andy working at the club. "Good then it will just be me and Piper and they don't need to know, I can always reverse it," she said and went back to the attic.

Meanwhile outside the house Phoebe walked in as Paige started reading the spell and was unaware of her arrival.

Life to Life

And Mind to Mind

Our Spirits now

will intertwine.

We meld our Souls

And journey to

The one whose thoughts

We wish we knew.

Paige stood there for a moment nervously as she looked around the room for any signs that the spell worked. But the silence and inactivity was a good indicator that it may not have worked. She shrugged her shoulders and closed the book as Phoebe came up the stairs and peeked into Piper's room.

"Hay how was your date?" Paige asks as she came out of her room.

"How has she been?" Phoebe asks as she closed the door.

"You're avoiding the question," Paige replied as she raised her eyebrows.

"No it was good I was just worried about her the whole time," Phoebe said as she went back down stairs.

"_He must not be that good_," Paige thought as she followed her.

Phoebe turned around quickly, "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Paige replied and looked at her oddly.

"I must be tired; I am getting some tea and go to bed. Do you want any?" Phoebe asks as she entered the kitchen.

"Nope I think I am going to bed too, see you in the morning," Paige replied and grabbed bottled water out of the fridge and headed for the staircase and back into the attic/bedroom.

Phoebe got her tea and went to her room as the night moved forward and morning came quickly.

Even though Prue did not get home until late she was still the first one up or at least she thought as she came downstairs and saw Piper looking out the stained-glass windows in the conservatory. She had her arms folded and seemed to be in a daze as she used the window seal for support. Prue walked over to her and placed her hand on Piper's shoulder to get her attention.

"Hay you ok?" Prue asks.

Piper jumped a little and then nodded with a forced smile but Prue gave that look again and she had to reply and words and not body language, "Yes."

"Do you want something to eat?"

"I get it," Piper replied but it was a struggle to get the words out and it mostly came out as a stutter.

"Piper you have only been home for a few days, please let us help you," Prue said as she made her way to the kitchen.

Piper knew it was a losing battle when it came to arguing with Prue about taking care of her, but she was determined to do things for herself even if it took hours to get dressed or an hour to eat a simple piece of toast. When they had steak, Leo had to cut it up for her and she hated it. She has never felt so vulnerable and isolated in her life. She tried to get to the kitchen before her older sister but she was still having serious movement issues as she had to use walls and furniture to keep her from falling over. Her balance was askew and the once simple task of walking became a Mount Everest effort. "_I can make breakfast_," she thought as she entered the kitchen but Prue was already at work.

"What would you like?" Prue asks.

"Cakes," Piper replied as she sat down and was out of breath.

"Piper you can't have cake for breakfast," Prue replied giggling a little.

Piper shook her head back and forth because she meant to say pancakes, "Panak," she replied and closed her eyes tight as frustration was building.

"Pancakes?"

"Yes," Piper said as Phoebe entered the room.

"Prue what are you doing up, I thought you did not get home until late last night?" Phoebe asks as she sat down next to Piper.

"I think I'm turning into a vampire," Prue said as she took out a skillet.

"Well then you're not a very good one, considering the sun is shining and way too brightly for my liking," Phoebe said as she covered her eyes with her hand to block the sun ray.

"Piper did you come down the stairs by yourself?" Prue asks as she remembered that she was already up.

"Yes," she replied and waited for the scorn.

"_Dammit Piper you could have fell_," Phoebe said to herself as she stood up to get some coffee.

Piper was not expecting to hear that from Phoebe and just rolled her eyes. "_I can make it down the dam steps_," she thought and Phoebe smiled.

"That was good Piper," Phoebe said as she was happy to hear a whole sentence from her. But Piper just gave her a look of confusion and Phoebe thought the she forgot what she said and just smiled.

Prue was too busy pouring pancake mix and the skillet to notice the exchange but did not forget the fact that Piper came down by herself. "Piper I know you want to just jump into things, but it will take some time and you need to let us help you with that," she said as she turned over one of the pancakes.

"I know," Piper replied as she felt as though she was getting it from both sisters now. Piper watched Prue make breakfast and she missed cooking so much. It was her release and now not only was she not able to do it but she wasn't even given a chance to try.

"Here you go, I need to get dressed," Prue said and put the plate of pancakes on the table in front of Piper and kissed her on the head before exiting.

"_Jesus Prue take a break_," Phoebe thought as her big sister left the room. Piper was already starting in on her breakfast but felt the cringe of guilt because she knew Prue was burning the candle from both ends. Working at the club and doing her photo shoots for the magazine while Phoebe was trying to finish school and Leo was getting his charges back. Their lives were hectic before this happened and now it was much worse because of her. Paige was taking of vacation to help around the house and in helping her.

"_I am so going to flunk my test today, I have had no time to study_," Phoebe said to herself as she sat down.

"orry," Piper said as her eyes started to water.

"For what sweetie?" Phoebe asks as she was not sure what Piper was referring to.

Piper's mouth opened and closed several times but she could not form the words and was interrupted when Paige came in.

"Morning," she said as she immediately headed for the caffeine.

"Hay Missy Paige," Phoebe replied.

"I need to find a job that lets me come in when I want," Paige said as she poured herself a cup.

"Well once you do put in a good word for me," Phoebe said as she took Piper's empty plate.

"Morning Piper," Paige said and sat down next to her.

"ning," Piper replied and bit her lower lip a little. She seemed to be continuously nervous not just around Paige but her whole family. She started playing with the napkin on her table while Phoebe cleaned up the kitchen.

"Paige I need to go to school today can you watch Piper?" Phoebe asks.

The baby sister shuffled in her seat a little, "Um Phoebe I really need to go to work, I'm out of vacation," Paige replied.

"Ok then I need to reschedule my test," Phoebe said but her mind was already speaking to itself," _for the 10th time, how are we going to do this, maybe we should get a nurse god how much is that going to cost, it's not like we are having money issues_," she thought as her back was turned while doing the dishes.

Paige was looking at Piper when she heard the other part and her eyes widened as Piper's started to water. "Phoebe," she said in disbelief the she said that while Piper was in the room.

Phoebe turned around thinking that something was wrong because of her baby sister's tone. "What?"

"Bed," Piper said and got up to leave the room.

"Piper wait I need to help you up," Phoebe said as she ran after her.

Piper just pushed her away as she put her hand on the banister in attempts to help herself get up the stairs quickly. She wanted to be by herself so she could practice without the concern looks.

"_Fine crack your head open, because three months in the hospital wasn't long enough apparently_," Phoebe thought as she stayed behind her.

Piper just closed her eyes tight again as tears streamed down and she never looked at Phoebe while ascending the staircase and when she got to her room she shut the door. "Sleep well Piper," Phoebe said but Piper said nothing in return and she just sighed heavily.

On the other side of the door Piper curled up in the bed and used a pillow to muffle her crying. "_I'm sorry Phoebe I don't want you to flunk out of school because of me, I don't want Paige to use all of her vacation because of me, I'm sorry_," she whimpered and her mind as the tears flowed freely. Leo orbed in because he could feel something was wrong and when he saw Piper crying into the pillow he knew she was having a breakdown. Sometimes she just needed to cry and he knew that as he got into bed next to her. It did not take long for her to notice his presence and she replaced the soaked pillow with his chest. He held her and rocked her slightly as she let loose a sea of tears. "It's ok baby, its ok," he said into her ear as he rubbed her back.

Prue was signing for deliveries at the bar when Andy walked in.

"Hay need your pipes cleaned?" he said as he put his arm around her waist and giggled into her ear.

"That is disgusting," she giggled back.

Andy turned around and gave her a kiss on the lips. "That's not an answer."

Prue kissed him back and put her head into his chest. "Well if you don't mind the delivery people watching."

"We can give them a few pointers," he replied.

"Maybe after I do the inventory, you could play delivery boy," Prue said while raising her eyebrows.

"Your kinky," he said and relinquished his hold on her as she signed for another delivery.

"Nope just exhausted so you will be doing all the work," Prue said as the bar was now empty except for them.

"What else is new," he said and tensed up his body knowing that she would hit him for that, and she did playfully.

"Hay," she said and sat down at a table with paperwork on it.

"Prue you need a break," he said as he sat down next to her.

"I know and I will take one soon, but we need to sale this club Andy and I need to make it look good to get the best price."

"Did you go over this with Piper?"

"No not yet and I am dreading it," she replied as her smile turned to concern.

"I know it will be hard but I think she will understand."

"I don't, I mean she won't protest not because she doesn't want to, but because she can't find the words or she just won't understand because of the brain damage," Prue replied.

"I think she knows what is going on Prue and you guys can't keep her in the dark about these things."

"Andy I know that, this has changed our whole world I feel like I lost her at least a large portion of her," Prue replied as her eyes watered.

"She is still there, yes her personality has changed and yes she has trouble communicating but you guys will get through this."

"I hope so, because the triad isn't going to wait and I feel like they're going to go after her because of her condition. Not to mention that Phoebe has her power now."

"Maybe you should give it back to Piper?"

"We can't Andy if a huge attack occurs and Piper is confused then we will all die, god this sucks," Prue replied and slammed the pencil on the table, "Why the hell won't they let Leo heal her?" she said as rage began to build in her again.

"There has to be a reason you Just need to find out what it is," Andy said as she put his hand on her shaking one.

"Oh I know the reason, it's because they're ass holes and like to see us suffer," Prue replied coldly.

"No Prue they don't want to see you suffer but maybe for you guys to learn a lesson somehow, or to closer to Paige, you know make the connection like you have with Piper and Phoebe."

"That doesn't happen overnight Andy and that is bullshit. Ok maybe the lesson was we took advantage of Piper and that is why she missed her doctor's appointment that would have caught this before it got too bad. I got that and I feel like hell because if it but she shouldn't have to suffer because of us."

For the first time as being a whitelighter Andy was at a loss for words and encouragement. She was right about them taking advantage of her and she was right that Piper shouldn't have to pay for not it as long she has. But Paige was still an outsider for the most part and was having trouble connecting with all three of them. He sat quietly as he rubbed her hand with his while Prue let loose her own sea of tears.

To be continued…


	13. Paige is in trouble

A/N:

Sorry for the long wait but I just finished moving in and emptying boxes, fun.

Thank you for your patience.

Chapter 13

Paige is in trouble

Piper was up early and was already in the shower as Paige and Phoebe were downstairs in the kitchen preparing breakfast. She could smell the bacon as the hot water hit her back and the bad spot on her head. Leo installed railing inside the shower, so she had something to hold onto because of her balance not being stable. Piper used one hand to hold herself in a standing position, while her other hand did the cleaning. She grazed her hand over the shaved area of her head and could feel the U-shaped scar and she cringed as flashes of memories of the pain after waking up in the hospital came rushing back. Downstairs Paige was putting the plates on the kitchen table as Phoebe finished up the eggs and toast.

"God I'm tired," Phoebe thought as she walked over to the table.

"Me too," Paige said as she sat down.

"Me too what?" Phoebe asks confused.

"I'm tired too," Paige replied.

Phoebe squinted her eyes and tilted her head slightly," Paige I didn't say that out loud."

"Whoops," Paige said as her eyes widened slightly realizing that the spell must have worked.

"Whoops?"

"I thought it didn't work and I thought we were alone."

"Oh my god you did the spell didn't you?" Phoebe asks as her heart was beating a little faster and tried to contain her anger.

"I was just trying to help," Paige replied in defense of her actions.

"We discussed this and said NO."

"So you don't want to communicate with her?" Paige said as she too could feel her hart pound a little harder.

"Paige that is not fair, of course we want too but not by using magic!"

"Keep your voice down," Prue said as she walked into the kitchen.

"Great now they're both going to yell at me, great way to start the morning," Paige said to herself and rolled her eyes.

"Your dam right we are both going to yell at you," Phoebe said as she could hear her thoughts.

"Why am I going to yell at her?" Prue asks while getting some coffee.

"Because she did the spell and I can hear her thoughts and Piper's and she can hear ours," Phoebe replied.

Prue stopped pouring her coffee and gave her baby sister hard look," Dammit Paige."

"It only last for 24 hours so it only has about three hours left and you guys are treating her like she's five years old, trust me it doesn't help," Paige said and was getting angrier by the minute.

"Wait I can't hear anyone's thoughts?" Prue said as she continued pouring her coffee.

"You were not in the house when I cast a spell apparently Phoebe walked in right when I did it," Paige said.

Prue walked over to the kitchen table and sat down." Paige I understand that you want to help but there are reasons we don't do certain things. Piper could hear something we don't want her to hear."

Phoebe closed her eyes tight as she remembered her thoughts to herself as she walked behind Piper and immediately felt guilt.

Upstairs Piper turned off the shower and did not notice the demon shimmering behind her and with a forceful and violent motion, he pushed her head using his hand on the back of her neck into the shower wall and used his body to pin her body against it. She could feel his hand squeeze to the point of almost breaking her neck and she could feel his body against her naked one.

"Well well, this is a predicament for you," he said and pulled out a knife from his back pocket and ran the blade down her bear back but only made a small cut. "Leo!" she tried to yell but he came out as a whisper as her body shook. "Dammit help me!" she thought and could hear the sound of footsteps running up the stairs in the distance. She was breathing rapidly as he put the pointed end to her lower back as he pushed her harder against the wall. "They don't need you anymore," he said into her ear, "You're worthless."

"Piper!" Prue yelled from outside Piper's room and did not bother to knock as she forced the door open causing it to slam into the wall. She thought that Piper fell in the shower or was having another stroke but when she got to the shower she see that none of those things were true. The demon was about to plunge the knife into Piper's back when blue and white orbs filled the shower stall. Leo grabbed the demon and tossed him out the side glass shower door as Prue ran to Piper who was holding onto the railing but was starting to slide down the shower wall. Phoebe grabbed a towel and put it around her as Leo continued his assault on the demon. He let out all his frustration and rage that he has kept pinned up for months onto the demons face and chest. "You bastard how dear you touch her!" he yelled as saliva was coming through his teeth in the form of spray as he landed one punch after another. Paige stood at the doorway as she could hear Phoebe's and Piper's thoughts in her mind to the point of drowning out her own. "Leo stop please they will take you from me," Piper said in her mind as her husband continued his relentless assault. "Please say he didn't touch you," Phoebe thought as she looked at Piper. Paige covered her ears in hopes to drown out the voices but it was no use as the sound was not audible. Prue wanted to beat the demon to death as well but they needed to kill him so they could help Piper in case she was hurt. "Leo stop!" Prue said and pulled him off the unconscious and unrecognizable demon as blood covered both Leo and the demon. The tiled floor was also painted with crimson fluid as Prue picked up the knife that the demon dropped and plunged it into the his chest causing him to explode. Leo's shirt and hands were completely bloodied as his breathing was rapid and his eyes narrowed in a furious expression.

"Piper are you ok?" Phoebe asks as she moved wet hair out of Piper's face. She didn't reply as she looked at Leo who was standing nervously by the broken glass as he looked at her. It only took him a second to snap back to reality as he could see bruises forming on her neck. "Piper," he said and rushed to her as Paige backed away from the doorway trying to regain her composure and keep her thoughts empty. Phoebe did the same as Prue used a towel to cover the blood and glass. Leo placed his hand a few inches from her chest and the warm glow radiated around his hand. The bruises and cuts were gone but her injuries from the ruptured animism remained and his hart fell again. "Come on honey let's get you to bed," he said and scooped her up in his arms. She was so light and fragile that he was scared of squeezing too hard or causing any pain as he placed her gently on the bed. "Did he – touch you?" Leo asks and prayed for a no reply. Piper shook her head side to side to indicate and put him at ease that he did not, at least not in the way they all thought. Leo released the breathe he was holding as he brushed his hand over her wet hair and sat down next to her. "I ok," Piper said as she could see the overwhelming worry on his face and she placed her shaking hand on his face.

"Paige could I talk to you in the attic for a moment?" Prue asks as she kissed Piper on the four head.

"I will clean up the bathroom," Phoebe said as she went to get the cleaning supplies.

"Ok," Paige replied hesitantly as she knew she was going to get reamed again about the spell.

Prue and her baby sister walked into the attic and Prue shut the door behind her. "First I am still pissed at you for doing the spell without our permission, but second I think it saved Piper's life because you heard her asks for help. So it's even but you still need to understand how things work here."

"Prue I'm sorry I really just wanted to help," Paige said as she sat down on the couch while Prue went to the book.

"I know we all do, but we have a system and so far it's worked when it comes to fighting demons."

"Ok I got it," Paige replied and looked away trying to avoid eye contact.

"Now let's see if he is in here," Prue said as she turned the pages of the book.

"But you killed him so why are you looking?"

"Because sometimes they have friends or work in pairs, not to mention the triad."

"Maybe you should give her power back to her?"

"I'm just afraid she will hesitate in using it, her reaction time is not what it used to be."

Phoebe came in and could see Prue looking through the book. "You have to be kidding me, Prue he is dead."

"Phoebe we may need to go after them, you know send a message to leave Piper alone," Prue said but never took her eyes off the pages as she kept turning them.

"Listen I'm all for leaving a message but we have a lot of things to deal with right now, like the club that we still need to talk to her about," Phoebe said as she walked over to Prue.

"You want to talk to her about that now considering what just happened?" Paige asks.

"Not this moment but later today we are running out of time," Phoebe replied.

"Can we just deal with one thing at a time right now, we need to make sure he is not associated with any group," Prue said as she found the demon in the book. "He is a lower level demon," Prue said as she was a little confused on why he would risk it.

"He went after her because she does not have her power right now," Paige suggested.

"That would make sense considering a lower level demon would not be that brave," Phoebe said.

"Phoebe start making some potions and writings spells, we are going to the underworld tonight," Prue said as she started to leave the attic.

"What do you want me to do?" Paige asks.

"Try to avoid saying any more spells while we are out and keep an eye on Piper," Prue replied but before the baby sister could protest she was out the door.

"I can kill demons you know and I can orb," Paige said to Phoebe who was gathering potion bottles.

"It's too early for that, please just keep an eye on Piper," Phoebe said as she exited the room.

"Bossy people," Paige said to herself.

"I heard that," Phoebe said from the other side of the door.

"God I will be glad when this spell ends," Paige whispered as she looked around the attic/her bedroom.

Leo helped Piper get dressed after cleaning himself off and then took her downstairs to get some breakfast. "Here sweetie," he said and lowered her into the chair. "Would you like some orange juice?"

"Yes," Piper replied as she adjusted herself in the seat to get more comfortable as Leo poured the Citrix drink into a small glass. She could still feel the demons body on hers as Leo put a plate of food together for her. His bad breath still filled her nostrils and the stinging of the blade as it went down her bare back and she closed her eyes trying to contain her emotions and to keep her body from shaking. She has seen and felt a lot more than most but for some reason this rattled her more than anything else she has experienced. Leo was the only person she has been in the shower with and never had a demon shimmer in while she was taking one. If she was fully clothed it may not have been as bad but she was completely naked and that was as close she has ever come to being raped. The sound of the glass being placed on the table made her force her eyes open as Leo put the plate down in front of her. "Ank you," she said.

"My pleasure," he replied and sat down next to her. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Piper smiled at him the best she could one onside lifted that the other one remained still creating a half smile. "Yes I ok," she replied and picked up the fork to cut her eggs but her hand was working against her and she couldn't even make a small cut into them. She tried not to show her frustration as Leo watched patiently while rubbing her back, "Its ok sweetie take your time," he said softly. Prue already made it down the steps and stood by the kitchen door quietly as Leo did what he did best.

"uck!" Piper yelled out and tossed the fork across the kitchen table, "I don't what to be an indolent or a burden, why didn't he just kill me," she said to herself as Leo went to get another fork.

"Try again," he said as though she just dropped the first one. Piper pushed it away from her and the plate of food as Prue walked in and put her hands on Piper's shoulders to keep her from getting up.

"Piper try again," Prue said as she moved the plate of food back in front of her. The doctor said that she would lose her patience quickly and mood swings would happen often but her sister put her hands on her lap and just shook her head side to side. Leo looked up because he was being called by the elders and he clinched his teeth as the rage from earlier was still fuming inside him. "Piper I need to go but I will be right back ok," he said and kissed her on the head softly before orbing away. Piper tried to say she was sorry for her outburst but could not get the words out as he materialized away. She could no longer hold in the tears from her family and just let loose as Prue held her while Phoebe entered the kitchen with potion bottles in hand. She did not want to alarm Piper so she put them in her pocket before sitting next to her. She heard what Piper thought all the way upstairs and it made her hart brake.

"Piper you're not a burden and you're not an indolent, you just need time to heal," Phoebe said and Piper looked at her oddly. "Paige did the mind link spell so I can hear your thoughts and you can hear mine along with Paige's. I'm sorry for what I said yesterday night about you falling in cracking your head open."

"You can hear me?" Piper thought and even smiled a bit.

"Yeah but it's just for a few more hours," Phoebe replied.

"Then do the spell again," Piper thought.

"Sweetie it's really hard to control what one thinks," Phoebe said as Prue just stood there but had a good of what they were talking about.

"Please I can't stand not being able to talk to you guys, I feel so isolated and alone please," Piper pleaded as Phoebe's eyes began to water and then she set those eyes on Prue. The older sister nodded her head to say it was ok.

"Ok we will do it once the spell wears off," Phoebe said and hugged her.

"Thank you and thank Paige for me," Piper said as her baby sister came into the room.

"You're welcome," Paige said as she could hear what they were talking about.

Leo was talking to an elder as he paced back and forth.

"Leo you are supposed to be passive," the elder said.

"He was going to – he could have," Leo tried to say the word but it would not leave his lips.

"I understand but that is what her sisters are for, you are not to get violent," the elder replied.

Leo stopped his pacing and looked his superior in the eye. "I won't let them hurt her!"

"Would you have reacted the same way if it was another charge?"

"What?"

"Leo I know you love her very much but you have to remember she is your charge first and your wife second, do you understand?"

Leo blinked repeatedly as the question seemed more redundant than an invitation for a reply. "Yes I understand," he replied and looked away. He knew that they could clip his wings or take him away from her so he decided to play nice even though he had no intention of complying.

"Good because if it happens again we will have no choice," the elder said and walked away.

To be continued…


	14. Killing the messenger

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews everyone and sorry for the long wait.

Chapter 14

Killing the messenger

Prue and Phoebe appeared in a billowing smoke in the underworld and were dressed to kill as they looked around for any signs of demon activity. Both were wearing black as they made their way down the dark caves as torches lit the way.

"Remember to use the potion to get us back if we get into trouble," Prue said as two demons stepped out in front of them and let out a growl as the other produced an energy ball.

"Lost little girls," the demon said and was replied with being tossed to the other side of the cave by Prue's power. The other demon began to rush but Phoebe froze him in place. "Ladies we are ladies," she said and used a knife she brought and stabbed him with it. He exploded and they moved on as Prue used a potion to kill the other.

"Ok it's hard to send a message if we kill the messengers," Phoebe said staying at the ready.

"Don't worry little sister there is more," Prue replied and continued walking down the dark corridors.

"Prue right now we don't exactly have the power of three it's more like two and a half," Phoebe said as she walked behind her.

"Piper is still a witch Phoebe and still our sister," Prue replied as she stopped to face her.

"I know but she can't say a spell right now, I just don't want to rattle the Lion's den too much if you know what I mean?"

"I don't plan on rattling it, I plan on destroying it," Prue replied as four demons shimmered in front of them.

"I knew you come," one of the demons said as he stepped away from the group. He had a tattoo of a symbol that looked ancient on his right arm and his pupils had the same shape.

"Phoebe freeze," Prue said but before she could comply the demons symbol glowed orange along with his eyes and they both went flying back 10 feet and landed hard on the dirt ground.

"You were saying," Phoebe said as she stood up.

"Ok new plan, run," Prue said and took off down a hallway as Phoebe followed her.

"We should use the potion to get back."

"No we need to find out more about him first," Prue replied as she kept running.

"What do you have a death wish, Prue we are not ready for this," Phoebe said as she kept apace with her older sister.

"Go to the house and kill the other two," the main demon said and the others nodded before shimmering away. "Welcome to the Lions den."

Back at the manner Paige was looking through the book when Piper walked in. "Paige." she said and sat down on the red couch trying to get her breath back from climbing the stairs.

"Oh hi Piper is everything ok?" Paige asks.

"Stairs," Piper replied with a small smile.

"I did the spell again so you can just think and I will hear you," Paige said and sat next to her.

"Right I forgot sorry," Piper said as she looked down at the floor.

"It will get easier," Paige said.

"What if I don't get better?"

"You will."

"Where is Prue and Phoebe?"

"They went out," Paige replied not wanting to worry her.

"Oh."

"Did you do your physical therapy today?"

Piper looked at her new baby sister and nodded as she has a ready forgotten about the spell. "Piper you can just think it remember," Paige said and felt uncomfortable correcting or reminding her all the time about what they just talked about.

"Where is Prue and Phoebe?" Piper asks again and could see Paige's eyes look away for a moment. "I already asked that didn't I?"

"It's ok, they went out," Paige replied and smiled at her while rubbing her back.

Three demons shimmered in and Paige stood up immediately but kept her hand on Piper's shoulder in case they needed to orb. Piper instinctively threw up her hands to freeze them but nothing happened and she knew they were in trouble.

"Kill them," the demon said and the others gave a wicket smile. Paige and Piper materialized into blue and white lights and then re-materialized near the ceiling in the living room. They hovered for a moment before falling hard on the ground. "Shit sorry Piper I don't have it down yet," she said as she helped Piper up as the demons shimmered in and one grabbed Paige by the arm," Pity," he said and tossed her like a rag doll to the other side of the room knocking her unconscious.

"Paige!" Piper yelled but a demon grabbed her from behind while the other placed his hand over her mouth. "No yelling for your whitelighter now," he said as she tried to get free. "You will be easy," he said as he pulled out a knife. "The hell I am," she thought and slammed the back of her heal on the demons foot that held her, causing him to let her go. She used her new found freedom and punched the demon in front of her hard in the face causing him to stumble backwards, but he regained quickly and ran towards her. "Leo!" she yelled but instead of the normal blue and white lights filling the room, a billow of black smoke replaced it. Prue was holding Phoebe by the waist and she was unconscious and bleeding heavily from her stomach. "Piper!" Prue yelled and had no choice but to put Phoebe down as she got a glance at Paige who was also incapacitated. The demon that held Piper before grabbed her again and placed a knife at her neck. "Move and she dies," he said as the other demon picked up his knife that he dropped when Piper hit him," Dam witch you broke my nose," he said and backhanded her. Prue's rage was overwhelming and with a wide swipe of her arm she sent him through the living room wall and into the Conservatory. "I said I will kill her," the demon that held Piper said as he pressed the knife in deeper causing blood to trickle down her neck. "Prue behind you," Piper thought as a demon shimmered in behind Prue. The older sister did a roundhouse kick and the demon landed on the coffee table as a piece of the broken would impale him and he exploded. "Prue toss us, Leo can heal me," Piper thought again knowing Prue could hear her thoughts. Prue did not hesitate and did what she asks. Both the demon and her sister went flying backwards and into a wall. The demon dropped the knife and was stunned for a moment as Leo and Andy orbed into the room as Prue killed the demon and Andy killed the other. Leo went to Piper who was laying on the ground holding her neck to stop the bleeding. Prue ran to Phoebe and checked her for signs of life," Andy she is dying," she said and he ran to Phoebe while Leo finished healing Piper. Prue then set her eyes on Paige and went to help her up as the baby sister was now stirring. "You ok?"

"Ask me in 20 years," Paige said while rubbing her head. "What happened?"

"Oh just stirring the hornet's nest," Phoebe said as she stood up with help of Andy.

"Piper what's wrong?" Leo asks as his wife was having trouble getting up and started jerking.

"Leo heal her," Prue said as she ran to Piper's side.

"I did, I think she is having a seizure," he said while holding her head to keep it from hitting the floor.

"Hospital Now!" Phoebe said and they orbed away.

The family set in the office of her doctor while they waited for news about what was wrong. Piper lost consciousness when they got there and could not understand why this happened.

"Sorry it took me so long," Dr. Williamson said as he entered the room filled with anxious and nervous people.

"Is she ok?" Leo asks.

"She is resting and is fine," he replied and sat down across from them.

"What happened?" Prue asks.

"She had a seizure, is she under a lot of stress?" he asks while looking at her chart.

All of them remained quiet for moment not sure how to explain her stress level as they all just barely survived an attack. "Yes is that what made it happen?" Paige asks.

"I think so, because of the damaged areas from the rupture some connections or more fragile than others and could trigger a seizure if there is too much activity in that region. But it is a theory we will need to do some test to make sure. Until then she needs plenty of bed rest and no stress or she will have another one."

Prue placed her hand on her forehead and rested her elbow on the table as the request seemed impossible at the moment. "We will make sure she gets plenty of rest," Phoebe said as she was not about to promise the stress situation would become easier.

"Good I will release her to you, just keep an eye on her," Dr. Williamson said and left the room.

"This is insane, Leo they need to heal her," Prue said while looking into her whitelighter's terrified green eyes.

"Don't you think I have been trying," he replied angrily and stood up from his sitting position.

"Guys stop it, if we are going to help then we need to make it as stress-free as possible," Phoebe said trying to break up the fight before it started.

"How with all of the demonvlle coming after us," Prue said while looking down at the table.

"I don't know but we need too," Phoebe said and left the room. Paige just sat there as she was not sure how to help in the situation and still felt like an outsider.

"I'm going to check on Piper," Leo said and left the room as well.

"Prue I'm sorry that I didn't get her out in time," Paige said as she felt responsible for not protecting Piper.

"Paige its not your fault its theirs," she replied and gave an evil I to the ones above her while leaving the room.

Leo entered Piper's room as a nurse was helping Piper get dressed into street clothes that they had on tap because hers were cut off when she got there. The last place Piper wanted to be was back in a dam hospital and was glad she could go home." Ok lift your right leg," the nurse said but Piper just stared at her and looked confused about the request. The nurse tapped her left leg to signify she wanted her lift it and Piper finally complied. "Hay sweetie you ok?" Leo asks as he sat next to her but the look in her eyes was very telling. He could also read her mind but she wasn't thinking of anything and what he did get was hard to comprehend. "Piper?" he asks again but again it was mostly stuttering as the nurse could also tell something was wrong." I will be right back," she said and left the room while Leo finished getting Piper dressed as he waited for a reply or something to show she was there at least mentally.

"ard to ink," Piper thought but her face was tense as she struggled to even think that.

"What honey?" Leo asks trying to decipher the broken language.

She said nothing and just lowered her head as the doctor came in. He went through a series of test as Leo stood to the side while the sisters came in with forced smiles but they all would go to serious looks as the doctor finished.

"Piper we might need to keep you here a few more days to run some test," he said and immediately she shook her head no. "I think the seizure may have caused some issues do you understand?" he asks and Piper looked at her family with pleading eyes. "eas I o ome," she tried to speak but it was coming out in fragments. Prue left the room and then a loud thud against the outside wall was heard by everyone and even made them all jump a bit. Piper closed her eyes tight trying to keep in the tears while Phoebe went out to see what her sister did. There was a small dent in the wall and Prue was sitting on the bench with her hands over her face and her elbows on her knees as her body shook from the crying she was trying to cover.

"Prue it's going to be ok," Phoebe said while rubbing her back.

"This isn't right," Prue replied and just kept crying.

Paige came out to join them as the doctor shut the door behind her. "The Dr. said she can come home but needs to come in for testing."

"Fine let's just get her home because I don't want her in the hospital anymore," Prue said and wiped her face as Leo and Piper came out of the room. She was struggling to walk as Leo had his arm around her waist and kept encouraging her, "your just tired honey you're feel better in the morning," he said as the nurse brought a wheelchair to them. "Here she can use this to get to the car."

"Thanks," Leo said and helped Piper sit down. She looked up at her family and could see that Prue was crying along with the worrying in their faces. She forced a small smile as Leo wheeled her past them.

"The nurse at the front desk has the time of the appointment for her to come in," he said and handed them a prescription." This is for her seizures." Prue took the piece of paper and put it in her pocket as he explained possible side effects. All of them were too overwhelmed to really hear what he was saying as the realization that things may have just got worse came crashing down.

To be continued...


	15. Put in the middle

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews and sorry it took me so long to update this.

Chapter 15

Put in the middle

Two days have passed since Piper had her seizure and was now put on bed rest. She stared out the window of her bedroom as the leaves played with the wind, only held in place by the strong branches that kept them from floating away. She felt like she was back in the hospital and was an outsider to the world as the days went on. Prue just took her breakfast that she barely touched away and she was now alone while she could hear noises outside her bedroom. Phoebe was getting ready for school and Prue was getting ready for work. Paige was just getting up and Leo had an emergency magical call in the middle of the night. She wanted to say how much she loved them but it never came out in a coherent sentence and sounded more like gibberish. The mind link spell was useless now as even her thoughts were hard to keep in alignment and most were scrambled. Her test results came back a couple of days ago and it was not good from what she could understand. The seizure was caused by blood pressure that was around the area that ruptured almost 4 months ago. A psychologist came to the house yesterday and discussed the possibility that her condition would not improve. Piper closed her eyes as anxiety was building in her and the need to get out of bed was making her feel like a child that just had too much sugar. She tugged and pulled on the sheets that came to her waist and also would twist them tight trying to keep her anxiousness tamed. She could feel her and Leo getting more and more distant as the days went on, he was there for her physically and sometimes emotionally, but the inability to communicate was taking its toll on both of them. Prue and Phoebe would talk to her but she had difficulty understanding at times and after a while they would just give her a smile. She hated that smile, it was them giving up on talking to her but she would smile back. Paige was different in how she acted around her; she was more comfortable in Piper's presence and would treat her like she was still human. It wasn't that her other sisters treated her badly they were just scared of upsetting her. She was tired of crying and even if she drank the ocean it would not be enough to fill her tear ducts. She looked up to the ceiling and shook her head back and forth, "_Screw this_," she thought and moved the tangled sheets away from her and started the process of disobeying doctor's orders.

Downstairs Prue just shut the front door as Phoebe was coming down. "Who was that?" Phoebe asks as Prue put some paperwork on the Fourier.

"It was the guy who wants to buy the club," Prue replied and tried to avoid eye contact as she knew that Phoebe would disapprove.

"Prue we haven't discussed this with Piper."

"I know but it is a great offer and I am afraid if we wait too long we will not get as much."

"We can't keep this from her," Phoebe said and folded her arms as she was trying to keep from yelling at her older sister.

"I know and I will tell her but she needs to keep her stress down," Prue replied and headed for the kitchen as Paige came down the stairs.

"Well I am off to work," Paige said but before she could exit Prue stopped her.

"Wait I thought you were off today?" Prue asks.

"No why?"

Prue took in a deep breath and then exhaled." Paige we need someone to stay home with Piper."

"So it's ok if I lose my job but not yours," Paige said and folded her arms while standing to one side.

"I didn't say that but I make more than you and right now one of us needs to keep their job."

"Phoebe could stay home," Paige suggested.

"No she has finals and she is close to finishing school."

"Paige we are sorry but we can't leave her alone," Phoebe chimed in.

"It's just you can orb so if there is an attack you can get her out," Prue said and could feel the cold gaze from her sister.

"What about her husband she has one right," Paige said with a lot of sarcasm in her voice.

"He is also a whitelighter and has other charges, if he doesn't do his job they will clip his wings or worse," Prue said.

Paige was feeling trapped in a family she only recently found out about and most of all was seeing her freedoms slip away along with her job. Without thinking she decided to make that feeling very clear to her older sisters. "You know my life was fine, no demons, a social life and a job that I cared about but all that is pretty much gone isn't it," Paige said and headed for the phone. "It's okay its only vacation I don't need it," she said and pounded the number pad as her face blushed slightly.

"Sorry we inconvenienced you," Prue said and stormed past her while Phoebe was not sure how to react. She was now in the middle of two very stubborn women. She understood why Paige was upset and why Prue was trying to keep everything together but her good intentions were not working well on the new sister who was used to being an only child. Paige finished talking to her boss and headed for the front door. "Paige where are you going?"

"I need to pick up some groceries is that ok?" she asks while waiting for a reply from Phoebe as she tilted her head to one side and looked more irritated in the task then it being a normalcy.

"Paige please don't be upset we will make it up to you," Phoebe replied as Paige slam the door behind her while Phoebe tried to catch up to her and the door being closed roughly stopped her in her tracks. She wrote her neck and tried to calm down. "_Dammit I hate being the middle sister_," she thought.

Piper was at the top of the stairs and could make out most of the conversation although some of it was jumbled. It was like having her head in a swimming pool and trying to make out people talking, sometimes she would get it sometimes she didn't. But what she did get was her family was arguing about staying home with her. She didn't want anyone to lose their job are not finish school because of her and she gripped the stair railing tight turning her knuckles white in the process as tears streamed down. She shook her head side to side in defiance of her predicament," _No I will get better_," she thought but it was in pieces like a radio signal going in and out while traveling down the road. Piper decided to get dressed and clean her room while her family continued on about their day. She knew they would get upset with her for getting out of bed, but she was done being the victim and done with beds. She walked back to her room while using the wall for support and balance as her equilibrium was off from the seizure. Dizzy spells were common and she had to close her eyes often to keep from vomiting, but she was determined to get back her independence as she made it to the dresser. She took out some clothes that were easy to put on and started the process as she sat on the edge of the bed. The once thoughtless task now took every ounce of brain activity to complete but after 20 minutes she was dressed. She gave a half smile as she was proud of that small accomplishment and made her way to the vanity. Her hair was growing back nicely and even covered the horse shaped scar but was still a little uneven on one side. Prue cut her hair about a week ago to keep one side from growing too long, "_Don't quit your day job_," she thought as she looked at her sisters handiwork that was not quite kosher to the normal haircut she gets. That thought took over 2 minutes to say in her head but she still got a small laugh out of it. She looked down at the table were her makeup and hair brush stood untouched for at least a week. She ran her hand over the soft bristles and felt human again as she started to brush her hair. The many knots made her scalp hurt and near the scar it even scared her, afraid she would pull something out. She took her time while the brush did its job of making her hair soft once again.

A knock at the door made her stop and she put the brush down on the vanity while Phoebe came in.

"Piper do you need anything?" she asks as she peeked around the half open door.

"No," Piper replied as she sat there hoping that her sister would not come in, but the fact she wasn't in bed was enough to make Phoebe open the door the rest of the way.

"Piper what are you doing, you should be resting," Phoebe said as she came in.

Piper bit her lower lip as the bed felt more like a coffin then place of rest," Did you get dressed on your own?" Phoebe asks.

"es," she replied and even smiled a bit.

"Honey I know this is hard but if you push yourself too much you will have another seizure," Phoebe said and Piper's small smile faded.

"Paige is going to stay with you today, I just have a few things to finish at school but should be home this afternoon," Phoebe said as she pulled back the comforter and sheets so Piper could get back in.

Piper squinted her eyes as she only got a little bit of what she said. Phoebe noticed Piper's expression and knew she didn't completely understand her and just padded the bed with her hand. "Come on sweetie I will tuck you in."

Piper was starting to feel like a family pet then a sister and shook her head side to side to say no. Phoebe looked at her watch and she was running late and did not have time to argue with another stubborn sister. "Ok but you need to take it easy," she said and gave Piper a kiss on the cheek before leaving. Piper felt relieved that her younger sister did not push her back into the soft coffin and turned back to the vanity. She looked at her self and picked up the creamy foundation and used it to cover the dark circles under her eyes. She was so very tired mostly because of the medication and stress but it felt good to rub the creamy coloring on her face. She struggled to pick up the eyeliner and knew this was going to be a tough process as her grip would not stay tight for long. Her hand shook as she tried to draw the dark line on her eyelid but she was patient and determined to make it work. One eye was down and just one more to go as she switched hands. She started the same process but noticed something different as her other I seemed to sag slightly and at first she was confused but then realized it was because of the stroke. It was something she never noticed before mostly because she has not gotten this close to a mirror in a while and hoped no one else did. The room filled with white and blue orbs and she smiled again as Leo formed behind her. She was glad that she got dressed and did her makeup even if it wasn't perfect as she turned around to face him. Leo looked exhausted as he headed for the dresser where is eyes were half open.

"eo," she said and he turned to face her.

"Piper," he said and gave a bright smile back." You look beautiful," he said and kneeled down in front of her. He knew she was depressed and struggling with everyday living, but felt hope when he saw her trying to get back her independence. She was a fighter and not one to just stay in bed, but it worried him that she would push to fast and too hard. He rubbed her outer thighs and even though he was exhausted would stay up with her if she needed him. Piper placed her hand on his face and bet down to kiss him. Their lips locked as Leo continued to move his hands along her legs until Piper made it very clear what she wanted. She took his left hand and placed it on her inner thigh as Leo kissed her shoulder blade. "Are you sure?" he whispered.

"Yes," she replied and he picked her up and took her to bed. This was acceptable bed rest to her and she let Leo do what he and she has wanted for weeks. He was gentle and rhythmic as he took his time enjoying every inch of her body. Leo would spend large amounts of time when she slept watching her and would be lost in thought of how much he missed her yelling at him about being gone for weeks, or leaving in the middle of the night. He missed everything the way she used to be but when they made love it was like she was back and he wanted it to last.

Paige was unpacking groceries and was still angry about the situation as she put them away. She wasn't mad at Piper and not even mad at Prue or Phoebe, but she was mad at something or someone beyond her seeing. She sat down at the kitchen table as lunch hour was coming on fast and knew Piper would be getting hungry. She decided to make a small sandwich and instead of just giving it to her in bed she came up with a plan. "_Picnic, I will take her to the park_," she thought and smiled as she found a basket in the laundry room and began the process of making lunch to go.

Prue was sitting in her car eating lunch as she looked over the steering wheel and onto a forest of trees. It was her quiet spot, a place she could go to think. "_How the hell am I going to tell Piper about the club_?" she wondered as white lights filled the passenger seat." Grams?" she said while one hand was on the car door in case she needed to escape.

"Well it ain't the Avon lady," Grams replied as she smiled at her granddaughter.

"Wait how can you do that?"

"Oh Prue I can be anywhere and everywhere," she replied while moving her eyebrows up and down.

"That was something I didn't need to know," Prue said and hugged her.

"My darling," Grams said and hugged her back.

"So what brings you to my car?" Prue asks.

"You need to find a way to connect to Paige."

"Grams it's not that easy and with everything going on."

"No Prue this is important, Piper may never be back to her normal self and she may not be able to complete her destiny," Grams said and looked out the windshield.

"What the hell does that mean? Wait is Paige Piper's replacement?"

Prue's grandmother hesitated in responding which was a clear sign that she was onto something.

"Oh my god they gave up on her didn't they?" Prue asks as she was in disbelief.

"Prue evil will not stop because you're having a family crisis, she needs to connect to you and Phoebe somehow and soon," Grams replied getting to the point quickly.

"Grams is Piper going to – _die_?' Prue asks as the last part made her mouth go dry. Penny looked at her granddaughter eyes as their looked fearful in the answers.

"Nothing is written in stone, just be there for her and be her sister and friend. She feels so alone right now and she will not take her condition lying down Prue."

"I can't believe this, after everything she's done after all the innocents she has helped save. Those bastards," Prue cried out as she opened the door and slammed it shut, trying to get distance between her and her grandmother. Penny sat silent in the car and could not go after her as a tear ran down her cheek. "I love you Prue and I am sorry," she whispered as she materialized away. Prue made it to a tree as her emotions were becoming too much and she put her hand on a tree trunk to keep herself from falling over. Andy could feel her pain and panic as he orbed in behind her.

"Prue is everything okay?"

She could not reply to him all she could do was cry as the realization that Piper may not live much longer was blocking all other sensations at the moment. "Prue?" Andy asks again as she went to her knees and just rocked back and forth. Four months of trying to stay strong, four months of roller coasters rides, four months of therapy had just came crashing down on her like a uncontrollable waterfall. Andy sat down and pulled her into him, "It's going to be ok," he whispered softly into her ear. "I was wondering when you were going to do this," he said but Prue just kept crying and rocking.

To be continued…


	16. The Replacement

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews everyone and sorry for the long wait.

Chapter 16

The Replacement

Paige placed the food she made earlier that day on the red floral blanket that laid on the short green grass. Piper looked around at the tall trees as birds fly from on to the other. She loved the park and it was good to be back to some kind of normalcy.

"I was not sure what you liked so I brought a lot of stuff," Paige said as she put her plate down and unwrapped the aluminum foil to reveal a sandwich made of turkey and ham. There was also potato salad and chips on the side.

"Thanks," Piper said and started digging into her lunch.

Paige gave her a warm smile as she too began to eat as people walked by. Piper took a moment away from her substance to watch a couple that had a small child between them. The little girl was only about three years old and had a tight grasp on her parent's hands as they swung her back and forth between them. Piper could not help her lower lip quivering as the thought of having children was now out of the question. The medication to stop her seizures would cause serious danger for the unborn and had to accept her situation. Leo said they could adopt but with her speaking skills severely damaged by the rupture and the seizures, she would not be able to even talk to it.

"Piper are you ok?" Paige asks as she noticed her sister's tears and started looking for a napkin as Piper wiped her tears away before giving her baby sister a forced smile. Paige looked in the direction that she was and could see what was happening as the couple was moving out of site. Paige was not sure what to say and decided to change the subject. "Your therapist is hot," she said with one raised eyebrow.

Piper laughed and then nodded as she started to eat again.

Prue came home from work and still was crying slightly as she entered to the living room where Phoebe and Cole were on the couch.

"Prue," Phoebe said and stood up while adjusting her shirt as Cole did the same.

"Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt," Prue said and headed for the kitchen.

"I should go," Cole said and kissed Phoebe on the cheek.

"Ok call me later?"

"Sure will," he replied as Phoebe walked into the door and let him out before heading for the kitchen.

"Hay how was work?" Phoebe asks.

Prue had her hands to her face and her elbows on the table." Grams came to see me today," she replied and let her hands hit the wood surface of the table.

"What?"

"I was in my car eating lunch and she just was sitting next to me."

"How is that even possible, I thought -?"

"It doesn't matter Phoebe we need to keep a close eye on Piper," she said looking directly into her baby sisters eyes.

"What did she say Prue?" Phoebe asks as she played with the arrangement on the table while her hands shook.

"She said we need to get close to Paige and create the connection that we have with Piper."

"We are close," Phoebe said.

"Not like we are with Piper."

"Ok but we have time Prue."

"I don't know if we do," Prue said and took a deep breath while closing her eyes." I asks her if Piper was going to die and she didn't exactly say."

Phoebe stopped fiddling with the arrangement and slumped in her chair," Nothing is going to happen to her," she whimpered while shaking her head side to side.

Prue stood up and sat next to her as tears made their Mark's again on both their faces. "We will not let that happen," she said while holding her.

Piper and Paige just finished their lunch and were walking to the car. Paige held onto the basket with one hand while helping Piper with the other. The walk was slow as Piper tried to keep her balance and put one foot in front of the other. "Almost there," Paige said trying to keep her spirit up as she could see the struggle in Piper's face. The baby sister was just about to grab the handle for the passenger side door when she saw a reflection of something red and glowing heading towards them in the window. "Shit," she said and pulled Piper to her side as the fireball hit the door. She looked at the dark scorch mark that was still smoking as the demon formed another. Piper used the car to keep her standing as Paige stood her ground in front of her. "Leo!" Paige yelled as the demon gave his evil sneer. He tossed the fireball at them and Paige yelled for it. Her eyes widened in surprise when it orbed out of the air and to her. "What the hell?" she said while the demon formed another. She instinctively threw it at him and he exploded when it made contact. Paige was very pleased with herself and looked around to make sure no one was watching," Did you see that?" she said to Piper but she was not standing up but on the ground having a seizure. "Leo!" she yelled again and he orbed in next to them.

"What happened?"

"Demon and Piper is having another seizure," Paige said while keeping Piper on her side while her body jerked violently.

"Let's get home," he said and looked around before orbing them out.

Prue could hear commotion that was coming from the living room and she made a dash to it with Phoebe right behind her. "No," Prue said as the fear of her and Grams conversation was coming to mind.

Piper was having issues with breathing correctly as she continued to thrash about while Leo held her head. "Come on baby breathe," he whispered into her ear.

"Oh looks like someone is not coping well," A demon said as he stood to the other side of the room. He was the one they faced in the underworld that kicked Prue's and Phoebe's ass. The three standing sisters stood up from their kneeling position as Prue took point.

"Stay behind me," Prue said and used her arms to push them back. "Leo get her out of here."

Leo did not hesitate at the request and orbed Piper to the attic.

"We did not finish are last encounter," he said and his tattoos began to glow.

Prue used her telekinesis and only made him move back a few feet. "Dammit!" she said as the energy he was creating was starting to be felt. Phoebe tried to freeze him but nothing was happening as he moved forward towards them. "What did the book say about him?" Paige asks as they all start the backup.

"It wasn't good," Prue replied and used her power to send large pieces of furniture at him while they made a run for it. Piper's seizure finely stopped but she was either sleeping or unconscious as he rubbed her back. The door to the attic opened and the sisters came in.

"Did you kill him?" Leo asks.

"Nope," Phoebe replied as she moved a dresser in front of the door.

"You really think that is going to help?" Paige asks.

"Just look in the book," she replied and was now standing next to them.

The hard wood floor in the center of the room started to break away from some enormous pressure underneath. "We really need to find something fast," Prue said as she turned the pages of the book frantically. The demon's head was the first thing to Pierce the new opening as his tattoos glowed more vibrantly.

"The source will be pleased," he said as the rest of his body hovered over the opening. He looked to his side to Leo and Piper. "I am sure we can find a use for her, maybe target practice," he said and Leo tried to orb her out but found he could not. "I can't orb," he said in a quivering voice. Paige found she could not as well.

"One of my many talents," he said as his hands glowed a bright reddish orange while he outstretched them.

Phoebe looked over to the table that had potions on them and remembered one that sent them to the underworld. She picked up a knife that was near the book as Prue continued to try to us her telekinesis but he did not budge.

"Prue distract him," she whispered and Prue's body slumped as an Astra projection of herself was formed. The new her made a run towards the opening while taking the knife that Phoebe handed her. Phoebe grabbed the potion while the demon was busy trying to get the other Prue off of him while she stabbed repeatedly into his chest. She tossed the potion at Leo's feet and him and Piper were gone in a puff of black smoke. The demon grabbed the fake Prue by the neck and stretched out his arm to give him distance from the stabbing woman. "Is that the best you got," he said and tossed Prue to the side of the room. Her once slumping body came back to life as the other faded away.

Leo and Piper arrived in the underworld on the hot dirt floor. "Piper can you hear me?" he asks while keeping an eye out. She opened her eyes slowly and was completely confused about where she was as Leo helps her sit up. "Leo?' she asks as he helped her to a standing position.

"I think I can orb but I can't take you back to the house," he said and took her to the only other place he knew.

The girls were pinned to the wall by an invisible force as pieces wood broke away and began to swirl around him. They were like sharp pieces of glass and made that apparent when they would get close to one of them and make cuts into their skin.

"Leo!" Prue yelled as her leg now had a large cut in it.

"We need a dam spell," Phoebe yelled out over the deafening noise.

Prue looked over to her side and could see Paige's hand, "Paige take my hand," she said and used everything she had to reach hers. Phoebe was also close enough and she did the same with Prue as they screamed in pain from the cuts and caches.

The demon was too much in a trance to notice what they were about to do. Prue took Paige's hand and Phoebe took Prue's as a light filled the room. They could feel the power running through them and for a brief moment felt completely at peace as the connection was made.

"Say it!" Prue yelled

"The power of three will set us free," both Phoebe and Prue said.

"Paige say it!" Prue yelled to her baby sister.

"The power of three will set us free," they all now said and the demon could feel that something was off.

"NO!" he bellowed and then shot a red and orange lightning bolt at them but it just bounced off as a protective shield formed around them.

"Keep saying it!" Phoebe yelled and they continued to chant.

The once spiraling pieces of wood began to spiral towards him and cut him into shreds as he screamed in agony.

Leo orbed in and had to stand against the wall to avoid the deadly projectiles. He smiled when he saw that they connect it and the power of three was restored. The demon exploded and the room that was once in chaos became calm while the sisters fell to the ground, now released from the invisible force.

"Thank god," Prue grunted out as she stood up but immediately fell to one knee as her leg and arms were badly cut, "Leo a little healing here," she said and he went into action.

"Where is Piper?" Phoebe asks while her cuts were fading away from Leo's healing.

"I took her to victors, Paige could you go get her while I finish healing Prue?" Leo asks.

"Sure," she said and orbed away.

"It looks like you guys have the power of three again," Leo said as he stood up while helping Prue.

"Looks that way," she replied and then felt a cringing in her stomach.

To be continued…


	17. Outside looking in

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews everyone and welcome to the story JenEllen Way, I am glad you like.

Chapter 17

Outside looking in

Leo brought Piper back to the manner as her other sisters were trying to clean up the attic that was completely a mess from the attack. Leo tried to stop her from entering but she wanted to make sure everyone was alright.

"Piper wait we have not had time to clean it up yet," Leo said as he chased her into the attic while holding her pills in one hand.

Prue and Phoebe were standing by the huge gaping hole in the floor as Piper ran in while Paige was looking at the book.

"Piper are you ok sweetie?" Prue asks and hugged her so tight she could not breathe. Piper did the same and could see that everyone was alive and well. She was relieved in ways she never thought possible as Paige read off a spell she found.

"'Let the object of objection become but a dream, as I cause the seen to be unseen" she said and broken and shattered pieces of hardwood came back together and formed the floor. The blood that stained the dark wood was also gone and everyone looked at Paige as she smiled wide. "There now that is a way to clean," she said and Piper walked over to her and hugged her.

"Anks," Piper said as Leo put his arm on his wife.

"Piper please sweetie you need to take your pills and rest," he said and she pushed them away.

"ont help," she said as the memory of the seizure came back.

Phoebe took the pills out of Leo's hand and placed them into Piper's," Honey I know it doesn't seem like it does but you need to give it time," she said and helped her open the bottle as Prue went to get her some water. Piper reluctantly let Phoebe put the two small pills in her hand as Prue helped her take hold of the glass. She hated how the pills made her feel as she put them into her mouth and forced them down with a glass of water. Usually after taking them she felt exhausted and noxious along with filling out of it. Leo took her hand and led her out of the now spotless attic as she looked behind her to smile at her family while they smiled back. Once Piper was out of the room they all seem to be in unison with relinquishing their breaths. "Ok that was close, we almost didn't survive that," Phoebe said as she sat down on the red couch.

"So what now?" Paige asks as she sat next to Phoebe.

"The triad and the source now know we have the power of three back, so they will either send the entire underworld after us or leave us alone for a while," Prue replied.

"How come none of those scenarios sound good?" Paige asks.

Leo helped Piper get in her pajamas and lay next to her as she fell asleep as the clock showed two o'clock in the afternoon. He rubbed her back as the pills did their work of relaxing her and he could feel her body go steady and calm. His eyes began to water as thoughts ran through his head, "_She can't do this for a life time, she will either push herself too hard or the seizures will make it impossible for her to survive_," he thought and closed his eyes tight as tears escaped from the corners. The pain and sadness was moving through his body light a distant thunder, "_After everything we did to get married to have a life with each other, to grow old with each other, was it for nothing_?" he wondered as Piper incoherently and out of habit smuggled her head under his arm and rubbed his chest with her hand. He was her rock, her only stable thing in her life besides her sisters and she held on to him for dear life. Leo finally drifted to sleep as well as the day moved on.

Later that day Phoebe came to the conclusion that they needed a girl's night in and picked up a movie as Paige ordered Chinese. They sat on the couch close to each other while sharing popcorn and giggling for the first time in weeks. The movie was a quirky action adventure with a lot of comedy and definitely fell in the B-movie rating but it was what they needed, as side comments were required and enjoyed doing it. Upstairs Piper woke up from her long nap and Leo was already gone probably to attend his charges. She moved her hand over the cold spot on the bed and missed him already. She got up slowly and went to the bathroom to clean up before heading downstairs while her stomach growled. The memory of what occurred earlier that day was gone one minute and back another creating a lot of confusion. She tried to sort out the pieces of information of images in her head as she finished putting her clothes on. She was becoming more independent but the process was slow and tedious. Her speaking ability was still far from improved and every seizure seems to make it worse. She made her way to the steps and could hear laughter coming from downstairs. It was a welcoming sound as the house has been filled with mostly tears and sorrow lately. Piper got to the landing and could see her three sisters snuggled up against each other, talking, eating and laughing. At first she was glad to see Paige connect to them but then felt uncomfortable as she bit her lower lip and played with her sweatshirt. She didn't want to ruin the mood by joining them; knowing she could not speak very well and they would become uneasy. She decided to keep her distance and she sat down on the step of the landing as they continue to enjoy each other's company. The more she sat the more she felt like an outsider, she remembered having these moments with them and tried with all her might to keep herself from crying as she leaned against the wall and let her head rest on the old wallpaper. Half an hour would pass as Paige would toss popcorn up in the air and try to catch it in her mouth as Phoebe would try to impede her from doing it. Piper would watch the exchange with mixed emotions of happiness for them, but jealousy and anger of being pushed away, of being replaced. The movie was almost over and she decided to crash the party in hopes that they would not become quiet or self-contained when she did. She quietly made her way down the steps and sat down on the chair that was to the side of the couch. Piper gave them a smile and waited for their reaction nervously as Prue got up and grabbed a blanket for her.

"Hay honey how was your nap?" she asks and put it around her.

Piper could not understand everything she said and looked at her confused for a moment," k," she replied not sure if she said something about a nap or if she wanted a blanket. Prue kissed her on the head and sat back down as Phoebe and Paige smiled at her. The room went quiet as the laughter that once filled it was now replaced with uneasiness as the movie went on. Piper put her attention on the TV as she could feel the tension in the room building as she could hear both the TV and them talking, but it was hard to make out what they were saying. "What do I do?" she thought as her social skills were completely offkilter. "_God don't cry_," she willed as the need to do so was overwhelming. "_Don't ruin their fun_," she thought again but getting up to leave was also rude and she would need to tell them why. Piper began to twist and twirled the bottom of her sweatshirt as she was starting to panic. Prue looked at her younger sister the one who always made fun of these crappy movies and could see that Piper was nervous and uncomfortable. "_Come on Piper talk_," she thought in hopes her younger sister would relax. The silence was deafening and Piper could no longer take the eyes on her, even though she wasn't looking at them she knew they were looking at her. Piper got up to leave the room and headed for the kitchen to get something to eat but mostly to take a breath. Phoebe stood up immediately and went to help her but Piper moved past her as quickly as she could, "I ot it," she said and gave a forced smile to her. Phoebe knew that Piper hated to be babied and let her go on her own, but she stood and kept an eye on her as she entered the kitchen debating whether or not to help. Prue answered that question for her by pulling on her arm from the couch. "She needs some space Phoebe," she said and Phoebe sat back down.

Piper did not get something to eat but instead went to the basement door and shut it quietly. She leaned her head against the door and let the tears she held in unleash. After a few moments she made her way down the steps and stood in the darkness and dampness of the basement. There were Christmas decorations and boxes next to her as the last four months of emotions were now un-containable. She picked up anything and everything and tossed it as far as she could while rage, depression, anxiety and fear came in waves. She knew this was not kosher and could cause a seizure but she did not care anymore as the basement became a designated receiver of pent-up emotions. "Fuck, fuck," she said over and over again until finally exhaustion hit and she collapsed to the cold floor and put her knees into her chest while rocking back and forth. She hated not having control of her life and being dependent on others but most of all she hated feeling disconnected from them. The fight she had before was fading along with her hope of getting better. If only she could write or do sign language but her short term memory loss would make it almost impossible to remember anything that was said. She felt trapped in a world that could not see her or hear her, she felt lost.

Upstairs the movie was loud enough to block out the noise from the basement but Prue could feel something was wrong and got up to check on Piper. "Do you guys want anything while I'm up?" she asks as she made her way to the kitchen.

"Some more pop would be great," Paige replied as she tried once more to catch the popcorn in her mouth.

"Denied," Phoebe said as she snatched it out of the air and put it in hers.

"At least I don't do air balls," Paige said because most of the night Phoebe has been missing her attempts.

Prue went into the kitchen expecting to see Piper making something to eat but instead was greeted with an empty room. She put her hand to her stomach as the fear of a demon taking her came to mind. She looked at the basement door and could hear crying coming from the other side even though it was slight. She opened it and headed down the steps as Piper was rocking and sobbing heavily. She immediately noticed that the basement was a mess and knew that Piper was the corporate.

"Piper its ok sweetie, its ok," she said and sat next to her and pulled her in close. "Shrr its ok," she whispered and rocked with her. Piper latched on to Prue mostly because she was like their mother and that is what she needed more than anything right now. "I orry," Piper said through gasp as oxygen was competing with her bodies reaction to letting loose.

"Its ok to get angry Piper but you need to calm down now," Prue said as the fear of another seizure was making the urgency to calm her down more immediate.

Prue just rocked with her and held her tight to her body to keep her warm. She was not sure if she needed to call Leo or not as she felt hands on her back and looked around to see Phoebe and Paige. They all sat next to Piper and rocked with her. "We will fix this," Phoebe said through her teeth as she did so.

Outside the house Cole was leaning against a car as a demon walked up to him.

"The power of three has been reconstituted," he said.

"I am aware," Cole replied not taking his eyes of the house.

"So what now?" he asks.

"Did the triad send you?"

"What do you think?' he replied.

"I have a plan."

"I hope so because they are growing impatient," he said.

"I will handle this," Cole said and now looked directly into the demons eyes.

"Well until you do I will," he said and shimmered away.

Cole rolled his eyes and shimmered away himself.

To be continued…

The next chapter will have a lot of action in it.


	18. Attempting Normalcy

A/N:

Sorry for how long it took to update and thanks for your patience.

JenEllen Way, thank you so much for the kind words and I am glad that I am representing what stroke victims go through well. Although I am sure it is much worse at times and I am glad there are people like you to help them out. Thanks again.

Chapter 18

Attempting normalcy

Piper was up early and was trying to make breakfast for the first time in months. She was dressed and felt ferly well as she got plenty of rest. Her hands moved slowly and with much effort as though she just pulled them out of an ice bucket and they would not react as quickly as she wanted them too. She held one piece of bread while using the other hand to cover it with butter. She had her tongue sticking out slightly as though it was going to help in this effort as she was completely focused on the toast. She was sitting down at the kitchen table because she could not stand for long before her legs would cramp up. She lost a lot of weight and muscle while in the hospital and she needed time to rebuild them. The bacon was burning but she was too focused on the bread to give it much thought and she also forgot she was cooking it. She pulled out another piece of bread from the bag and started the process over again but then realized she has not put them in the toaster. She put her hand to her head and felt completely stupid as Prue ran into the kitchen because of the smoke that was belling out of it.

"Piper what are you doing?" she asks while taking the pan off the burner.

"orry," Piper said as she stood up to help her.

"No its hot honey," Prue said as Piper tried to grab the pan and the fire alarm went off which of course woke the whole house. Piper's body slumped and the great breakfast she planned for her family was now falling apart.

"What's going on?" Phoebe asks as she ran in expecting a demon.

"Its fine we got it," Prue said as Piper backed away from everyone as they scrambled about trying to turn it off.

"This house is noisy," Paige said as she walked in rubbing her eyes with Leo behind her.

"Piper are you ok?" he asks and she nodded while forcing a smile.

"Sorry about bren," Piper said as she looked at the burnt bacon and untoasted bread.

Leo hugged her and could tell she was upset as Prue used a broom handle to turn off the fire alarm. "Its ok honey," he whispered.

"Coffee, I need coffee," Phoebe said and went to go make a pot but it was somewhat made already. She looked at the pot and it was filled with grains.

"I ade it," Piper said and smiled and Phoebe pulled out the holder for the filter there was none there.

Phoebe was trying to hide the fact she forgot but that was Impossible considering she was standing so close to her. "I do that all the time," she said in attempts to make Piper feel better, but her face just fell as this whole effort caused more problems than helped. She took in a deep breath as Phoebe put in a filter and refused to cry or get upset as she watched. She was not going to start their day with them worrying about her. She took out the coffeepot that had the bad coffee in it, and emptied it as Phoebe put the holder back and then let Piper put the pot back in its rightful spot. "Thanks," Phoebe said and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Prue was laughing as she played with Paige's hair that looked like a Frankenstein movie. "Stop it," Paige said and blew a strand of hair out of her face. The smoke cleared out as the family sat down to eat whatever was around as Piper joined them. For the first time in a while she felt like part of the family again as they talked about what they had planned while Leo had his hand on her lap the whole time. She was not uncomfortable or uneasy as she could make out for the most part what they were saying although some things were unclear she never showed it.

"Do you want something to eat?" Leo asks as he leaned over to her.

"Yes," she said and kissed him on the lips.

"Get a room," Paige said as she took a bite of her bagel.

"Hay your just jealous because you had to do the walk of shame this morning," Prue said as she remembered her baby sister coming in late.

"I least I am getting some," she replied and Prue nodded her head in agreement.

"Andy has been gone for a week now, you know you think he could orb or call," she said and Leo smiled at how Piper would say the same thing.

"Sounds familiar," he said as he smiled at his wife.

The morning would be filled with laughter instead of tears and Piper loved it. She just sat back and enjoyed the moment as Leo rubbed her back while eating some cereal. Paige was adjusting to being not just a charmed one but also a sister as Phoebe was getting the hang of freezing and blowing things up. Piper knew that she was not as needed then before but she still felt like family. She has started to accept her predicament and has been working hard with her therapist to get better. She missed her club and wanted to go there, but she was not allowed to drive and needed someone to take her. She waited for everyone to get done eating before she stopped Prue as she was leaving the kitchen.

"Prue?"

"Yeah Piper," Prue replied and faced her.

"Club," Piper said with a small smile.

Prue just stood there with her mouth agape as she was dreading this moment. Piper thought she didn't understand her and said it again.

"Piper we need to talk," Prue said and took her back to the kitchen table and sat her down. Everyone else was getting dressed and Leo was already gone to attend some of his charges. "Piper the club was losing money and we had no choice but to sale it, I am so sorry that I haven't said anything to you until now but I know how much you love that place," Prue said as her eyes began to water. Piper just blinked repeatedly as she got snippets of what she said, but definitely got sale. She could see Prue about to cry and was not going to let that happen so she put her hand to Prue's face and smiled. "It ok," she said with a forced smile. Prue knew it wasn't and she was hurt but Piper did understand why they had too.

"I am so sorry sweetie," Prue said and put her hand on hers.

"No it ok," Piper said and stood up from the table," Late," she said and pointed to the clock on the wall.

"Oh oh I need to go, Piper we will talk when I get home ok," Prue said and rushed out of the room.

Piper was now alone in the kitchen and looked at the mess that was made but she just didn't have the energy to clean it. She just stood there as the reality that she lost the club was sinking in. It was her other sanctuary when she needed some alone time and she did truly love it. But like everything else in her life she was getting used to losing the things she loved to do or places she liked to go too. She headed out and went upstairs to her room as her other sisters were getting dressed. All she wanted to do was sleep and let this day end quickly in hopes to avoid anyone seeing her. She climbed into bed and covered herself to her neck as she turned to one side making sure to face away from the door in case anyone came in. She could not believe how much it hurt to lose the club but it hurt bad and she cried breaking her first rule of today. Phoebe picked in and thought Piper was sleeping before she went back downstairs as Paige came out of her room.

"I will be home around noon today," Paige said as Phoebe started cleaning the kitchen.

"Ok I will be here," Phoebe said as Paige left and Cole was standing at the door entrance.

"Hay Phoebe is in the kitchen," Paige said and headed out.

"Thanks," Cole said as the door shut and a demon shimmered next to him." Did I mess up your plans?"

"Nope one is alone upstairs and she is so sad," the demon replied while smiling." I told you to stay out of it," he said and shimmered away.

Phoebe came out of the kitchen to see who was at the door. "Cole," she said and could not contain her happiness as she rushed to him. Cole knew that Piper was in trouble and knew how losing her would devastate Phoebe. He put his arms around her and could feel her love for him and his was blossoming for her. He hated being ripped apart by his human half but he did love her so much and loved how it made his human half feel.

Upstairs Piper was still crying but tried to keep it down by covering her face with a pillow. The demon shimmied in and smiled at the perfect opportunity that was in front of him. He jumped on the bed and pushed the pillow down over Piper's face. She tried to scream but it was muffed by the pillow as she tried to push him off with her arms and legs. He straddled her and could feel her getting weaker by the second as the stress of the situation caused her to go into a seizure and her body jerked under him. He smiled wide at the fact he just killed a charmed one. Downstairs Cole could no longer keep his secret hidden from Phoebe.

"Phoebe I need to tell you something," he said.

"What?" Phoebe asks and thought he was going to say something about their relationship.

"Piper is in trouble," he replied and shimmered both him and her up to Piper's bedroom. Phoebe just looked at him until she could hear something going on in the room. She turned around and saw the demon over top of Piper's body as it went still, 'NO!" she yelled and froze him along with Cole. She ran and pushed the demon off of Piper and then removed the pillow. Piper's face was pale as what looked like vomit was in her mouth because the pillow was impeding it from escaping. Her eyes were wide open and her heart sank as she checked for a pulse while the demon got up from the floor as Cole unfroze. Cole formed a fireball as Phoebe used her finger to wipe out the vomit," Leo!" she yelled as the demon formed an energy ball but Cole struck him down with his power before he could hit her with it. Leo orbed in and saw Cole but ignored him as Phoebe had Piper on her side and was trying to free her wind pipe. "She is not breathing," she said as Leo tried to heal her but nothing was happening. Two members of the triad flamed in next to Cole. "You have betrayed us," they said and grabbed him by the arms. "I love you Phoebe," he said and was taken away. Phoebe just stared at the empty spot were Cole was but Leo was more concerned about his wife. "Phoebe I need your help!" he yelled as he put her on the floor. "I can't heal her until she starts breathing."

"Oh god ok ok," she said and started CPR on her as Leo ran to get the phone incase this doesn't work.

Phoebe was able to clear out the vomit and started the breath of life. "Come on Piper," she said as tears ran down her face and her mind was scrambled. "He is a demon," she said to herself as she continued the process of bringing her sister back to the living. Piper took in a small breath and Leo could see her chest move slightly but it was enough," Ok I got her," he said and put his hands on her. It took a long time for his power to heal her as Phoebe held her hand. Piper's eyes closed and opened slowly as Leo finished. "Piper can you hear us," Phoebe said as she rubbed her hand with hers. Piper's mouth moved but no sound came out as she was trying to get her bearings while looking at them. Leo picked her up and put her back on the bed while Phoebe went to get her medication.

"Piper please say something," Leo said while holding her close to him.

"Ok," she said and patted his arm with her hand as she fell asleep.

"Leo is she ok?" Phoebe asks as she took out a pill.

"Yeah she just fell asleep," he replied while stroking her hair.

"That's normal right?" she asks.

"It can happen after a seizure," he replied and Phoebe was now focused on Cole.

"That basterd he is a demon," she said and stood up from the bed heading for the attic.

"Phoebe keep it down," Leo said as she left not wanting to upset Piper.

Phoebe went into the attic and then the book. "Paige!" she yelled and waited patiently for her baby sister to come as she called Prue on her cell phone.

"What?" Paige said as she orbed in.

"Demon just tried to kill Piper and Cole is a dam demon," Phoebe said and Paige put her hand to her chest.

"Oh god Cole tried to kill Piper, is she ok?"

"No and yes," Phoebe replied.

"Come again?"

"Piper is fine but Cole didn't try to kill her he help save her," she replied and then realized what she just said.

"I am very confused," Paige said as she walked over to her.

"That makes two of us," Phoebe said as Leo walked in.

"I need to stay with her so if you need me I will be in our room," he said and went to head back out but the door slammed shut. "What the hell?" he said and could not get it to budge.

"Leo stand back," Phoebe said as she tried to blast it but it would not explode." Shit Piper," she said as her sister was alone. Leo tried to orb but found he could not as did Paige. "What do we do?" Phoebe asks with panic in her voice.

"I don't know," Leo replied as he tried to use his shoulder to break it down.

"Andy!" Paige yelled but he did not show up.

Three demons flamed in dressed in black and red robes," Don't worry she will be taken care of," the one triad member said and with a wave of his hand Leo and the sisters were gone in flames sent to the underworld along with Prue who just walked into the house. Piper was still asleep when all of this went down and is completely unaware of what just happened.

To be continued…


	19. Spawn

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Hazel08 I have added some Piper and Paige time at the end of this story and thanks again for the reviews and ideas.

Chapter 19

Spawn

Piper's eyes opened to a dark bedroom as she rubbed her eyes to get out the particles of sleep that have formed. Her body was sore as she sat up in her bed and leaned against the headboard. She put her hand to the side of the bed expecting to feel Leo's warm body, but instead was greeted with cold sheets. She squinted at the digital clock that was close to midnight and yawned. Her short memory issue was doing its work of blocking out the hours before where a demon almost suffocated her to death and she assumed that Leo was out helping a charge. The house was airily quite as she looked outside the window and could see the tree limps move slightly in the wind as the soft rain fell on the glass. Her Stomach growled as it needed to be filled and she reluctantly got up from the bed to apiece its desire. She managed to miss the vomit on the blanket as she got up and headed out the door, making sure to be quite so her sisters could sleep."_What to eat_?" she thought as she made her way down the stairs and put her arms around herself as a cold chill came over her body. Piper walked into the kitchen and turned on the light and had to adjust her eyes for a moment as they seemed too sensitive to it. She grabbed a couple of slices of meet and some water out of the fridge and headed out to sit on the couch but dropped her dinner when she saw the front door was wide open. Her heart was pounding as she stared at it for a second not sure if the wind did it or someone was in the house. "Leo!" she called out and hoped the intruder would not rush her. "Leo!" she called out again but he did not show. "Prue!" she yelled and made a run for the stairs but her movement was not as fast as it used to be and the clime was agonizing as she felt like someone was behind her the whole way up. "Phoebe!" she yelled as she reached the top and looked over her shoulder before opening Prue's door and closing it shut. She got her breath back and felt a little safer but when she turned that feeling would turn to panic as Prue's bed was empty. "Phoebe!" she yelled while making her way to her bedroom but again it was empty. Last was Paige who was sleeping in the attic but when she walked in, her heart sunk as it was empty too. "Shit," she said while roughly moving her hands through her hair. "Andy!" she almost fainted when yelling his name as he was the last resort but again no white and blue lights filled the room. Piper ran to the attic door and shut it followed by locking it," _Maybe went out_," she thought in hopes they were at a restaurant and just lost track of time. She knew it was late but she needed to know that everyone was alright as she picked up the phone and squinted hard at the numbers. Ever since the seizures started her eyesight has been getting worse and she had to put the phone right in front of her face. She would hit one number but it took so long to find the next one that it would start beeping. "Dammit," she said and tried again. It took her over 20 minutes to make her call but it finely went through. "Dad I you," she said and Victor knew what she meant. "I am on my way sweetie," he said and they hung up. She tried to call Prue's cell but has forgotten the number along with Phoebe's and she was now realizing she was alone. "What if happened," she thought as demons have habits of taken them so she went to the book, only to have the same issue of seeing as she did the phone. They needed her and she could not help them and the reality of that hit her hard as she went to the couch and sat down while tears streamed down her face.

Down in the underworld all three sisters with Leo and Andy were tied up in very uncomfortable positions. They had their hands behind their backs and were hanging in the air with cement blocks chained to their feet, causing enormous pressure on their shoulders. They were unconscious as the triad prepared some kind of ceremony while the source was also on his way.

"Their powers will not stay bound forever," A triad member said as he tossed a human hart on the floor that landed next to a man who was missing his.

"What about the forth one?" the other triad member asks.

"She is no threat to us, but I would like her to see them die and I could use a pet," the man replied.

Prue was the first to wake as sweat dripped off her nose and onto the dirt floor. Her vision was blurry and she felt suspended while her shoulders felt like they were going to be dislocated from there socket She moaned as she tried to move her arms that were not move at all so she decided to look up as much as she could. She looked to her right and could see Phoebe still unconscious and in the same predicament as her, as to her left was Paige. Leo and Cole were on the sides of them but she did not see Piper and for that she was grateful. "We have a chance," she thought as one of the triad members walked over to her. He grabbed her hair on the back of her neck and now she wished she did not wake up.

"Hello Prue," he said with a conceited grin.

"Fuck you," she snapped back but her throat was dry and the lack of moisture made it come out hoarse.

"Such language," he said and pushed her head back down causing her shoulders to almost come out of their sockets. She screams and that wakes up her sisters and the men who were very confused about where they were, except for Cole who recognized this place and immediately felt dread.

"Oh Belthazor you are awake," the triad member said as he walked over to him.

"Leave them alone," he said through his teeth while trying to get free of his restraints.

"The source will be here soon and he will enjoy devouring you," the man said and walked back to the other members as they lit black candles.

Leo was looking around hoping not to see Piper and was glad when he didn't but she was asleep when this happened, and would wake up alone in the house. He tried to orb but could not and could see some kind of pendant hanging around his neck. "It must be blocking it," he thought as Paige also had one around her neck when he looked at her. He could see the pain in her face as she tried to relieve some of the pressure on her shoulders by leaning forward, but the weight on their feet kept them from doing that.

"Phoebe can you do anything?" Prue whispered.

"No my hands aren't free," Phoebe whispered back as tears came down her face caused from the pain.

"Piper will figure something out," Prue said but was not completely confident in that statement considering she has no active power. She did not know about what happened at the house as she was coming home from work and right when she stepped into the manner everything went black.

Piper was pacing the attic as she heard a knock on the door that made her jump until her father said it was him and she ran to open it.

"Daddy," she said almost like a child as he hugged her.

"Piper I'm here honey now what's wrong?' he asks as she walked him over to the book.

"Spell," she replied while pointing at the book.

"Spell?"

"Lost," she replied while playing with her hands and her eyes showed fear.

"Piper where are your sisters?" Victor asks.

"Lost," she replied almost yelling.

"Demons took them?"

Piper nodded as she opened the book but could not see the writing clearly and needed his help.

"Piper I am not magical," he said but she kept his hands on the book. "I don't understand," he said as his eyes watered and he could see the sheer panic on her face and it hurt him badly.

"Spell lost," she said again.

"Lost witch spell?" he said and hoped he was on the right track.

Piper nodded and even smiled a bit as Victor started looking at the pages until he found the lost witch spell and turned the book towards her. Her smile faded as she realized that she would not be able to say the spell because of her speech problem. "Fuck," she said and ran her hands through her hair. Her father was terrified that he was about to lose his daughters as he held Piper who would be the only one left if anything happened to them. "Try sweet hart," he said and put her in front of the book again. She nodded and knew she had to do something or they would die. She took in a deep breath as she started the spell,

"Power of the witches -

Course unseen -the skies

- who call you near

Come - settle here.

Victor could tell she was missing words and she also did not use the knife to cut herself. He grabbed the knife off the table and Piper looked at it oddly for a moment and then took it.

"Piper try again and make sure to say all the words ok."

She tried once more after pricking her finger and let the blood fall into the bowl but she did not say all the words and nothing happened. She closed her eyes tight as she realized she could not say the spell and she fell into her father who kept her from falling.

"Its going to be ok, we will find a way. Maybe if we call Penny?" he said and looked for a spell while holding her but it was lengthy and he knew she could not say it. Piper let herself slide down to the ground as all of her energy was depleted while Victor held her tight to him. "I sorry," she whimpered as she felt like she completely failed her family that has sacrificed so much for her this year.

"Its not your fault Piper and they are strong so don't be worried they will find a way," he said but the words got stuck in his throat and he could not help but cry.

"Let me get you some water," he said and stood up as she rocked back and forth in her spot. Victor left the room and the door slammed shut behind him," Piper!" he yelled from the other side as he could not get it to open as two demons shimmered into the attic. Piper immediately got to her feet and now she was angry, furious and grabbed the knife as the two demons smiled at her.

"Now now you could hurt yourself with that," one of the demons said as he approached her.

"Get away!" she yelled back as her father pounded on the door.

"The source wants you to see your family, don't you want to see your sisters?" the other said as he approached from the other side.

Piper backed up until the wall stopped her path and knew they did not mean it in a good reunion kind of way," Kill you," she said and kept the knife in front of her.

"We will just keep coming," he said and shimmered away and then appeared next to her. He grabbed her around her side as she tried to stab him but it was no use as he shimmered out and the other demon followed. Victor finally managed to open the door but Piper was gone and he just stood there for a moment in shock. "Penny help!" he yelled while looking up.

Back in the underworld a demon shimmied in with Piper as she still held the knife. She immediately set eyes on her family and then struggled to get free. She was still dressed in her outfit that she fell asleep in as one of the triad members pulled the knife from her hand. Leo fought hard against his restraints and did not care about the pain he was feeling as the source entered the chamber.

"Would not want you to miss out," he said as he walked up to her.

"Go," she said while still struggling with the demon while rage flashed in her eyes.

"Go, I'm sorry Piper but you will need to speak more clearly, oh wait you can't," he said and placed his cold hand on her face. "Maybe you could give me an air," he said as he removed his hood. One side of his face was badly burnt and his eye was missing while scars went down his face. His teeth were yellow and sharp but Piper did not look away as she continued to eye him down.

"Don't touch her!" Leo screamed as spit exited his mouth with the words.

"My Lord it is time," a triad member said behind him.

"Time to take in all of their powers and kill them for good," he said and scratched Piper's face with his sharp long fingernails. She flinched but looked right back at him.

The source stepped into the pentagram with the black candles at each corner while the sisters and the men struggled and screamed in pain.

"Piper run!" Prue yelled as she knew they were probably not going to make it.

"No!" Piper said and was able to push the demon that held her away and grab the knife out of his hands. She then used it to kill him as another demon grabbed her.

"Are you telling me you cannot hold a semi-retarded witch in place," The source said as he formed a fireball.

"Sorry my lord it will not happen again," the demon said and the source extinguished his fireball and then faced the charmed ones.

"I should have said no when you asked me to move in," Paige said and gave an awkward laugh.

"Wait, try to turn them, "Cole yelled as the members began to chant. He was hoping to buy them some time but Phoebe was not amused by the suggestion.

"Cole shut the fuck up, you lied to me," Phoebe said as she kept her eye on the source.

"Wait he has a point," Andy said and could feel the disbelieving stare from Prue and was too trying to buy some time.

"Hold," the source said as the suggestion was rattling in his mind.

"My lord we do not have much time before the spell wears off and they get their powers back," one of the members said in his ear.

"The charmed ones evil would be the ultimate revenge as their souls would never see the light," the source said mostly talking to himself. "How much time do we need to keep them bound?" he asks.

"It took us over three weeks to get the ingredients we needed for Belthazor and over a week for the whitelighters. For the sisters it took three innocents harts it would have taken four but Phoebe has Piper's powers."

"To long I will just have to trap their souls now find a way," the source said and the man nodded and then with a wave of his hand a demon came in flames and kneeled down.

"I have a job for you," the triad member said and motioned him to the other side of the room.

"Unless you would like to make a deal Piper?" the source said as he walked back over to her.

"Piper don't do anything," Leo yelled as the flames on the candles were starting to get higher while some of the members continued chanting.

"You become my bride and give me an heir and I will free their souls when they are dead."

Piper looked back at her family and she could not imagine them dead let alone not having peace.

"Piper don't!" Prue yelled as Phoebe and Paige did the same. Piper went to her knees and the demon let her drop as she placed her hands over her chest. What she would do to be able to freeze time as many thoughts ran through her head. "I could agree and then kill him or myself once they are safe," she thought as she closed her eyes tight while her family yelled at her not to do it.

"Come Piper such a small sacrifice for your family's wellbeing," the source said as Piper stopped rocking and became still and her eyes opened. But they were not of defeat or sadness, something changed as she raised her eyes up at him while her head remained straight ahead. She stood up as she kept her eyes on him. A wind came rushing through the cavern and blew out the candles as the torches flickered and the men stopped chanting. The source backed up as Piper's hair danced with the wind and her eyes withheld a secret that only she knew and she gave a sideways smile.

"Kill her!" the source yelled as he could feel power surging in the room that was not his own. The triad members formed fireballs and without hesitation threw them at her. Piper raised her hand with her palm facing towards them and they froze in front of her. The source backed up even more as his confusion grew with the others but most of all, the power surge was beyond anything he has ever felt and was now afraid.

"I will release them if you leave," he said and Piper just tilted her head.

"No deal you die is that clear enough for you," she said and placed her and on the wall behind her. A demon tried to rush her with a knife but some kind of shock wave with a blue tent hit him hard and he went flying back and into a wall.

"What is happening?" Prue asks as she too could feel the power surge.

"I don't know but look she is healing," Leo said as the scratches on Piper's face healed and her hair became even and her body mass was going back to normal.

"Leo how?" Phoebe asks.

"She's pregnant," he said as he smiled.

"The baby is healing her," Phoebe said.

"And she is tapping into her power," Paige said with a smile.

The wall behind Piper began to crack as the Triquetra formed out of the hard rock walls. Blue and white light rose like smoke out of the newly formed cracks. The source tried to use his telekinesis on her but it just bounced off her stomach as a shield went around her.

"Visurus magam magni solis filiam, His procedens é latebris, Ibis Circêum liber in hospicium, Haud arctis arctis clusum terminis," Piper said and the fireballs that were once frozen begin to move and become one. She then looked directly at a triad member and the giant fireball engulfed him. The others tried to flame away but found themselves to be too slow and were engulfed as well. The restraints that held her family was removed and they landed on the ground as the source tried to escape but found he could not as his feet were now shackled to the ground.

"This is not possible, you don't have any powers!" he yelled as Piper's sisters joined her as the cracks became larger on the wall and the light became stronger behind them.

"Hay sis," Prue said and held her hand as she removed the other from the wall so she could hold Phoebe's. Leo and Andy stood to the side as they took off the pendants that were around their necks and could feel they energy coming back to them.

"Looks like Melinda has some juice," Andy said as Cole stayed to the other side.

Piper said nothing as she was completely focused and seemed to be somewhere else at the moment while she started another spell. Concentu vario errabunt cæli volucres, In terra, in vnd' in aere. Et to dimittent illæsum pisces maris, Naturali silentio;" she said and the light rushed through the cracks in the wall like a horizontal waterfall. "Repeat," Piper said and her sisters got the hint.

"Concentu vario errabunt cæli volucres, In terra, in vnd' in aere. Et to dimittent illæsum pisces maris, Naturali silentio;" they all said together and the light mixed with the spell swirled around the source. It was cutting him like razor blades as it did so. They don't know how they knew the spell but they did.

"Prue hold him in place," Piper said and Prue held up her hand, using her telekinesis to keep him from moving out of the circle. "Paige orb the book," Piper said as she looked at the Grimoire,"Into the center," Piper said and Paige did what she asks. "Phoebe start blasting," she said and her sister did what she asks while the light continued its assault on him. He screamed and thrashed about as Phoebe used Piper's power to blow off his ligaments. "You like that," she said as she could not help but enjoy the moment.

"Now we finish this," Piper said and put her hand to her stomach. She walked forward and into the swirling light but she remained unharmed as she rose to his level while the chains that bound him to the ground continued to hold along with Prue's power. All that was left was his torso as his appendages were removed by Phoebe. She placed her hand on his chest over his black hart.

"I already have an heir," she said and the swirling light began to move faster as it moved into her body and to her arm. The source could feel his hart being crushed and then he exploded into a 1000 pieces as along with the Grimoire as Piper lowered herself down. She then shook her head and looked around and turned to see her sisters smile wide.

"What just happened?" she asks and then felt her head were she had the surgery. It was completely healed and her thoughts were not scrambled anymore but clear.

"You just vanquished the source or she did," Phoebe replied as she pointed to Piper's stomach.

"What?"

"Yeah that is one powerful fetus," Paige said and walked over to her as Leo ran to her.

"Piper are you ok?" he asks as he put his hands on her to check for injuries.

"I think so, apparently she takes after her father," Piper said and then noticed all the cuts and bruises on her family. "Leo, Andy could you take care of them?"

"Sure," Andy replied and did what she asks as Cole remained silent.

"You!" Phoebe yelled as tears threatened once more, "How could you?"

"Phoebe I was trying to buy us some time that's all and it worked see," he replied while looking at Piper.

"Not just that Cole, you're a dam demon," Phoebe said as she tried to blow him up but found that power was now gone. "Fuck!"

"Sorry Pheebes," Piper said as she could feel her power return to her.

"Then you do it."

Piper stepped in front of them and was ready to blast away but then stopped. "Wait he saved me didn't he?" she asks as the memory of what happened in her room came back. She remembered being outside of her body for a moment and Cole killing the demon that suffocated her.

"Is that true?" Leo asks.

"It doesn't matter he is a demon and probably set it up that way," Phoebe said as her body shook.

"I can't," Piper said and was not completely sure why but she could not do it.

"I was sent by the triad to kill you but I fell in love with you, I wanted to tell you but with everything going on it just wasn't the best timing," Cole said as he tried to approach her.

"Get away," Paige said and stood in front of him.

"Paige," Prue said and stood next to her.

"I am sorry Phoebe," Cole said and lowered his head and then shimmered away.

"I swear if I see him again I will kill him," Phoebe said as she walked back over to Piper.

"How about we get out of here," Andy suggested as he stood next to Prue.

"Can't argue there," Piper chimed in and Leo with Andy orbed home.

They all sat in the living room as Penny and Patty with Victor who were very glad to see them alive and well.

"We were so worried," Patty said as she sat next to Piper on the couch with her arm around her.

"Did you know Grams?" Prue asks with a raised eyebrow.

"No but I knew Piper would find a way back to us and that you would connect with Paige," she replied as she played with her necklace which was a telltale sign she was not being completely truthful.

"Grams?" Piper asks noticing the body language.

"Ok I was terrified that you would not recover and eventually the demons would get to you," she said and sat on the other side of her.

"Well we can thank the little one for that," Piper said as she took in a deep breath and patted her stomach. "You ok with being a daddy?' she said and looked at Leo.

"You bet," he said with a wide smile as his green eyes lit up.

"Piper about the club," Prue said and Piper just swatted her hand at her.

"Its ok Prue I completely understand, god I was out of it. I never felt so isolated and alone in my life. But don't worry we will get it back," she said and Prue squeezed in beside her and hugged her.

"I am so glad you are ok, because I missed the sarcastic remarks," Prue said but Phoebe was lost in thought and Piper noticed.

"Honey I know it hurts to have someone you love turn out to be a demon or warlock, but he did help at the end," she said but Phoebe just wiped her nose and looked down.

"I loved him Piper I really did and it scares me," she said.

"Why?" Andy asks.

"Because I'm attracted to evil," she replied and Paige sat next to her on the chair arm.

"No you're not Cole was good at seducing and that is what it was, so don't blame yourself ok," Paige said and Phoebe leaned into her.

"It still sucks," she said.

"Ok I am exhausted and can't wait for a restful night sleep," Piper said and squirmed out of the people sandwich that she was in. "Phoebe you will get pass this," she said and kissed her on the head.

"Piper I'm glad you're ok because," she said and closed her eyes.

"I know me too," she replied and headed for the stairs as Leo followed her.

"So the source is dead but it was more of Piper's doing then us, so what does that mean for our destiny?" Prue asks Andy.

"It was not just all her. She needed all of you for the spell to work so it was all of you and your destiny is fulfilled, its like Fourth of July up there," Andy replied.

"So this means a brake," Paige said and sat down on the couch.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean it's permanent, other demons will try to become the source," Andy said and Paige rolled her eyes.

"Until then we are going to get the club back and spend a lot of time together as a family. And who knows maybe start one of our own," Prue said as she kissed Andy.

The next morning Piper awoke early to be quiet and serene home and she could not help but touch everything in sight as she walked past it. From the wood on the banister to the pictures on the wall of her family as the sun was greeting her while she entered the sunroom. She could feel its warmth as it spread evenly on her skin. Her thoughts were clear and her movement balanced and voluntary as she walked into the kitchen and smiled at her sanctuary. She could not believe how close she came to losing everything and how supportive and loving her family truly is. "I will make all their favorites," she said and started pulling out the ingredients to make a breakfast fit for kings and queens. Her new baby sister would stop her task at the moment when she entered.

"You're up early," Paige said as she got some coffee that Piper freshly made.

"Yeah I think I slept more then I was awake," Piper replied and pulled out some things from the refrigerator.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good very good, Paige I don't know how to thank you for helping me," Piper said and decided to join her sister at the kitchen table with coffee of her own.

Paige just swiped at her playfully," Oh it was nothing," she said and took a sip.

"It was more than nothing, I know we have not had a lot of time together since you've been here but welcome to the family, as screwed up as it is," Piper said as she too took a sip.

"So what are you going to name her?" Paige asks.

"Melinda," Piper replied our rubbing her stomach and leaning back in the chair.

"She definitely has some power."

"Definitely."

"I need to get dressed," Paige said and started to stand but Piper grabbed her arm.

"Can you take the day off?"

"Oh Piper I would love too but I don't even know if I have a job as it is," Paige said and Piper reluctantly let go.

"Sorry,"

"Its ok my boss is pretty understanding," she said and started to leave.

"Oh Paige what is your favorite breakfast?"

"Eggs Benedict," Paige replied and left the kitchen.

"Eggs Benedict it is," Piper said and start working on her meal as the family began to wake. They all sat down for a hearty breakfast and talked until all of them headed off in their opposite directions today. Leo gave Piper a long kiss and said he would be back for lunch and he wasn't planning on eating anything but having an afternoon delight with her. She raised her eyebrows as he whispered that into her ear and was already filling the excitement of what was to come.

Piper would eventually get the club back as a reward from the elders for them killing the source. In months to come they would find out that they would have a son and not a daughter but it did not change how much they loved him.

The end

A/N:

Thanks everyone for reading and for the great reviews. I hope you enjoyed it and liked the ending.

To listen to the music that would be used when they fought the source, go to my profile and check it out.

Brand x = Spawn.


End file.
